CASUAL FRIDAYS: REMEMBERING KOBE

This story was shared by Ben Pickman for Si.com on 1-26-21

On Jan. 26, 2020, Garcia, the manager at El Camino Real, a no-frills Mexican restaurant in Fullerton, Calif., saw the notification on his phone that Lakers star Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter Gianna and seven other individuals had been in a helicopter crash that no one survived. “I was shocked,” Garcia says. “I couldn’t believe that it happened.”

Over the course of two-plus decades, Garcia had gotten to know Bryant and his family relatively well. Vanessa Bryant, who grew up in Fullerton, first took Kobe to El Camino Real when the two were dating, as it was a favorite spot of hers. “Treat me as a regular customer,” the future L.A. icon told Garcia on one of his first visits. “Don’t treat me as a star.” In the ensuing years, the two often brought their children with them when dining in. His favorite table was in the far right-hand corner, near the register.

It was at the restaurant, which sits nestled in between a dentist office and a bagel and espresso shop in an otherwise unspectacular strip mall, that Bryant insisted on waiting in line and ordering his meal in Spanish. He took a particular liking to their carnitas plate, carne asada tostada, aqua fresca de melon and flan. While fellow diners occasionally approached the Lakers’ star and his family, Bryant felt comfortable at the restaurant, telling Garcia, ”All the customers are my body guards.”

The full article can be read on si.com