Sqirl — Jessica Koslow's jam-and-rice-bowl empire (2012-)

Sqirl is a restaurant and preserves company at 720 N Virgil Ave in Los Angeles’s Virgil Village, founded in 2011 by Jessica Koslow as a jam operation and opened as a breakfast-and-lunch counter in October 2012 ^[1][2]. Koslow, a former television producer who trained at Atlanta’s Bacchanalia and studied the UC Cooperative Extension master food preserver curriculum, bought out the lease on an 800-square-foot former Mexican restaurant for $10,000 ^[2][3]. The restaurant quickly became a defining force in California cuisine: by 2013, daily lines snaked down the block for its ricotta toast, sorrel-pesto rice bowl, and seasonal grain bowls ^[1][2]. In 2016, Eater LA published a 7,000-word feature declaring Sqirl ‘the bastion of all things Californian and vegetable-forward and exciting and new’ ^[1]. Jonathan Gold gave it a glowing early review, and it was covered by Bon Appétit and the New York Times ^[2][3].

In July 2020, the anonymous Instagram account ‘sqirltruth’ posted a photo of a 10-liter bucket of Sqirl’s house jam covered in blue-green mold, which staff were instructed to scrape off and serve ^[1][5]. The ensuing #JamGate (or #moldgate) controversy became national news ^[1][2]. A mycologist quoted in the LA Times noted that ‘spores can grow quite deep into a gel as they disperse’ ^[1]. Koslow admitted the practice, saying mold sometimes developed and that employees removed it along with several inches of jam below ^[2]. The scandal widened to include allegations of an unlicensed, unventilated second kitchen hidden from the L.A. County Department of Public Health until 2018, where mold was spread by a fan ^[1][3][5]. Twenty-one former and current employees reported unsafe working conditions, unsanitary food-handling, and that chefs of color—including former chefs de cuisine Javier Ramos and Ria Barbosa—were not credited for signature dishes such as the ricotta toast, crispy rice salad, and jam-stuffed French toast ^[1][2][3][5]. Koslow was nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef: California in May 2020, but the restaurant closed for one day due to protests and death threats ^[1].

After the controversy, Koslow kept a low profile for five years, implemented new jam-storage protocols, and moved jam production to a health-department-certified facility overseen by Jose (Saul) Parada ^[1]. In fall 2025, Sqirl extended hours and debuted a dinner menu with dishes like shima-aji crudo and chicken-liver mousse; the ‘Sqirl After Dark’ dinner service launched in February 2026 ^[1][4]. Koslow now cooks on the line several days a week and credits her chef de cuisine Sandra Felix and executive sous chef Guillermo Mendez ^[1]. She also hired Anthony Trang to give massages to all of her managers at her own expense ^[1]. Sqirl continues to operate at its original Virgil Village location, serving its signature jams, rice bowls, and toast, while its legacy as both a trendsetting California café and a flashpoint for labor and food-safety debates remains ^[1][2][6].