Free Republic

The Irwindale City Council decided Wednesday to drop a lawsuit against the Sriracha hot sauce factory and table a separate resolution declaring the factory a public nuisance. The city and the factory began warring late last year, when residents began to complain of a spicy odor that caused headaches, heartburn and watering eyes. The trial was scheduled to begin this November, and the public nuisance declaration would have eventually authorized city officials to enter the factory and make the changes themselves. But city officials said Huy Fong Foods Inc. had finally demonstrated a specific written commitment to solving the smell...

IRWINDALE >> Sriracha’s spicy relationship with the City Council cooled off a bit Wednesday after officials unanimously dismissed a lawsuit and public nuisance declaration against manufacturer Huy Fong Foods. The standoff between the city and Sriracha creator David Tran began in October when the city filed a lawsuit against his iconic company. The battle sparked fears among Sriracha fans there would be a global shortage of the popular condiment and its bottle with the tell-tale green cap. An informal meeting Tuesday between Tran and city officials, accompanied by a written statement from Tran, provided the council the assurance it needed...

IRWINDALE>> Sriracha maker David Tran was succinct when it came to his requirements for any place where he might expand his popular hot sauce business. “(We) must have chilies,” Tran said at a news conference where he announced he was considering an expansion to the Lone Star State. Last week, a delegation of Texas politicians, who have actively courted Tran via social media and open letters, toured the Azusa Canyon Road factory. Texas is known as a pepper-growing region, however, Craig Underwood, who grows all of the jalapeños that are crushed into the iconic roster sauce, said it would take...

People love Sriracha hot sauce, but the CEO of Huy Fong Foods does not love California’s officials. He even compares the state to the the communist nation he fled decades ago. “Today, I feel almost the same,” David Tran told NPR on May 12, referring to when he fled communist Vietnam 35 years ago. “Even now, we live in [the] USA, and my feeling, the government, not a big difference." ...

David Tran fled communist Vietnam in December 1978 on the Huey Fong, a Panamanian freighter that carried Tran and more than 3,000 other refugees to freedom. According to a 2013 profile in the LA TImes, Tran and his family settled in Los Angeles, where he soon realized he couldn’t find work or a hot sauce that he liked. Tran began to make his own hot sauce and sold it in Chinatown. He named it after its place of origin (Si Racha, Thailand) and started a company in 1980, Huy Fong, which he named after the freighter that brought him to the United...

Let me state my bias up front. I like hot sauce. I like it on eggs. I like it in ramen. I like it on stir-fry dishes and Mexican food, and I don't think you can honestly call yourself a Californian if you're not a hot sauce lover. And so I went to Irwindale last week to investigate the Sriracha sauce standoff. As you may have heard, city officials are waging battle against the manufacturer, responding to citizen complaints that jalapeño-scented air blowing out of the hot sauce plant can irritate your throat and make your eyes water, especially during...

The Irwindale officials charged Wednesday with misappropriating public funds took lavish business trips to New York City, including meals at five-star restaurants, evenings at Broadway shows, chauffeured rides and nights at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, according to records obtained by The Times. The spending came as leaders in Irwindale spent $87 million in affordable housing funds over eight years, but only built 42 homes. Two trips to New York were for the purpose of discussing bonds for housing for the poor in the San Gabriel Valley city of about 1,500 people.