Alan J Gitlin

Alan Jacob Gitlin (Abraham Yaakov ben Yosef HaLevi) passed peacefully on January 1, 2023, less than a month before his 89th birthday, surrounded by loving family members.  Born in La Plata, Argentina in 1934 to Jose and Sonia Gitlin, refugees from Eastern Europe, he served in the Argentine military during a tumultuous period of revolutions and counter-revolutions, ultimately resulting in the ascendance of Juan Peron, before immigrating to the United States in 1957, settling in Los Angeles.  Alan was a loving husband, devoted father, proud grandfather, brother, son and friend to many. A natural entrepreneur from the age of five, Alan lived his life with integrity, humor, wisdom and conviviality.  In the 1960s, he worked at Interstate Restaurant Supply, where he established deep relationships with some of Los Angeles’ early restaurant pioneers, such as Tommy Koulax (Tommy’s) and the founders of El Cholo and Casa Escobar.  He helped to popularize casual sit-down Mexican cuisine in the 1970s and 1980s as a senior executive, first expanding the pioneering El Torito chain to more than 40 locations across the United States and then growing Casa Vallarta/La Villa Taxco’s footprint across Southern California.  Key to his success, Alan created and led cross-functional teams to develop what is now known as a comprehensive Customer Experience (CX) through integrated architecture, design, operations, menu selection, service and logistics that set the standard for the industry.  Then, in 1985, he went out on his own, purchasing the iconic Mexican restaurant Margarita Jones, a USC and LA Coliseum staple, where he entertained and fed political leaders, students, fans and visitors with some of the tastiest Mexican food and best margaritas anywhere. Alan was a co-founder of Sociedad Hebraica Latinoamericana, a group of Latin American Jews in the LA area and later also co-founded LAJA, the Latin American Jewish Association.An avid sports fan, Alan loved to play golf, tennis and ping pong, and closely followed the exploits of Tiger Woods.  His greatest passion was for soccer, though, playing in his youth, attending his grandsons’ games and watching Leonel Messi through his career at Barcelona, Paris Saint Germain and with the Argentine National Team.  Just last month, Alan wore his “albiceleste” jersey with pride as the Argentine National Team won its third World Cup. Alan was predeceased by his brother Benjamin Gitlin and his sister Berta Krimer and is survived by the love of his life, Carol Ann Gitlin, his devoted wife of over 62 years, his brother Dr. James Gitlin, his sons Martin (Kathy) and Steven (Iris) Gitlin, and his grandchildren, Shira, Kayla, Daniel, Emily, Jonathan and Adin.