Have received many emails since the weekend about the fate of El Pollo de Oro, a SanTana charbroiled chicken shop beloved by eaters for its namesake juicy golden hens and affordable prices.

I didn't know what the hell they were talking about until visiting today and finding a gutted interior and two papers taped to the storefront window, each scrawled with the word "CERRADO" ("closed" in Spanish). Its phone number is disconnected; its stern owner nowhere to be found. Methinks it's rising rent rates in SanTana's Fourth Street, but will investigate further. In the meanwhile, pray that the spot doesn't get transformed into some chain pendejada. And for charbroiled chicken fans, two fantastic substitutes: El Pollo Fino in Anaheim and the county's best charbroiled chicken, San Clemente's Surfin' Chicken.

Go to each, and raise a wing in memory of El Pollo de Oro.