About eight years ago, when I came up with the idea of writing about Los Angeles food History, the first place I thought of was The Brown Derby. The iconic place Lucy with her pals, the Mertz’s, went to find the herd of stars in one place. It was so many people’s first look into where the stars dined. Here is my story from my book LA’s Legendary Restaurants and a recipe served at the Derby. Since writing the book, I have found that I was missing two more Brown Derbys in the Los Angeles area. One in the Crenshaw district that only lasted four years before the second IHOP moved in is still the longest (64 years) running IHOP. And another location which housed more of a commissary on Bronson Ave (currently a Gelson’s Market)
The Orginal Brown Derby on Wilshire
The Original Brown Derby
3427 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles CA
Motto: “Eat in the Hat”
Opened November 17, 1926
Moved in 1937 to 3377 Wilshire Boulevard
Managed and co-owned by Restaurateur Herbert Sombom
Co-owned by Studio Head Jack Warner of Warner Brothers Studio
Co-owned by actress Gloria Swanson
Currently, The Equitable Life Building was built in 1969 with 34 floors.
Second location: The Brown Derby Plaza strip mall. Part of the original building was incorporated into the back corner of the mall.
Driving through Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s, you would find buildings in the shape of what they were selling or named after the shape of the establishment. A large Derby hat sprang up across the street from the famed Ambassador Hotel. At first, many thought it was a haberdashery.
The Wilshire Brown Derby opened to fanfare in the fall of 1926, one of six locations that dotted the southland. It was designed by Carl Jules Weyl, an art director for Warner Brothers Studios. He also designed Rick’s Cafe in the Academy Award-winning movie Casablanca. Every booth had a light fixture with a derby-shaped shade. On top of the neon sign, it said, “Eat in the Hat.” The gossip columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper were standard fixtures at The Derby, holding “court” close to the Hollywood action, with informal gatherings of female newspaper reporters and magazine writers who covered Hollywood. They named themselves The Hollywood Women’s Press Club and met each Wednesday at noon.
The booths were low-sided for maximum visibility. They were the favorite spots of the stars to eat, and the north wall was reserved for the “A” list. Some of the most prominent customers who sat beneath their caricatures on the desirable north side were Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, Katherine Hepburn, William Powell, and Eve Arden.
The early years of The Derby featured simple fare: liver and onions, burgers, and omelets. Besides the shape of the building, The Brown Derby was very unassuming inside. The interior featured simple dark wood tables and chairs, and only a few notches were visible above the coffee shop. Herbert Sombom and Robert (Bob) Cobb had a hit and didn’t think anything could improve. It also stayed open until 4:00 AM.
In the early 1930’s, the story goes that Sid Grauman of theatre fame came into the Derby late one night requesting something to eat. Bob Cobb put together leftovers from the refrigerator: a salad of diced turkey, bacon, blue cheese, a hard-boiled egg, sliced tomato, avocado, and mixed greens of lettuce, watercress, chicory, and romaine drenched in French dressing. The Cobb Salad was born. Today it can be found on many menus with variations of dressings and ingredients. In 1930, Bob tossed everything in one bowl. Today, many establishments place the ingredients in rows as a more elegant presentation and then mix tableside. This salad and Sid Grauman put The Brown Derby on the map.
Bob Cobb started having stars by the busload coming through. The front of The Derby, with the awning-covered entry, was packed daily with fans three deep, much like a Hollywood premiere. It was the only way to see a star on the big screen in person, unlike today, with so many news and media outlets. Everyone ate at The Derby.
A 1932 article in Star Gazer magazine reported that “The Brown Derby is more than a Hollywood institution. It is not only a place to meet and talk over contracts and plan divorces and further romance under the bronze derby-hatted lights, it is also a place to eat. It is famous as the spot where Jim Tully battled Jack Gilbert and where you can get Special Hamburgers brought sizzling to the table in copper frying pans. It is a place where the stars gather at lunch and after premieres to be seen - and to relish some caviar.”
While The Derby had locations in Hollywood at Sunset and Vine, at Los Feliz at Los Feliz and Hullhurst, and Beverly Hills at Wilshire and Rodeo, only the original location had the derby-shaped building. The menu changed with the specials of the day. Sunday was paprika chicken, Tuesday was declared meatless due to the war effort, and Wednesday was Beef Wellington. Cobb salad was always on the menu, with lobster thermidor and filet mignon becoming menu regulars. Tableside tossing of salads was the style of the day for The Derby’s chef’s salad, caliente salad, and about six others.
In 1945, The Derby was featured in the film Mildred Pierce. Joan Crawford tended the bar, famously claiming, “People must drink somewhere. Why not here?” Like Sardi’s in New York’s theatre district, the walls were lined with 8 x 10-inch framed simple caricature sketch drawings of the stars of the day. It has been said that a young man named “Vitch” made the first drawings in exchange for hot coffee and soup. Later, from 1947 to 1985, Jack Lane drew the sketches. It was an honor for your profile to be created for the walls of The Derby. Many stars would also personalize or autograph their black-and-white art. The 1955 episode of I Love Lucy, entitled “Hollywood at Last,” featured Lucy, Ethel, and Fred deciding to “rub elbows” with the stars at the famous eatery. Lucy pointed out Eve Arden’s sketch and Jimmy Durante’s double-framed sketch - one for his face and the other for his nose - to much laughter. Some of the original framed drawings can be seen in the Original Red Onion in Rolling Hills Estates’ first dining room since the owner, Jeff Earles, purchased many at an auction years back.
Before mobile phones, the Maitre d’ would announce that “so and so” had a phone call so that everyone would know which stars were there. The tourists would be excited and bright-eyed, waiting to see their favorite star come to the phone. The Derby was Clark Gable’s favorite restaurant; he proposed to Carole Lombard in booth #5 at the Hollywood location. In 1941, Carole Lombard threw him a surprise party for his 40th birthday at their ranch. It was catered by The Brown Derby and featured only his favorite items on the menu: corned beef hash, pot roast, baked beans and orange chiffon cake.
The Hollywood and Vine Street Derby was close to Paramount Studios, Sunset Gower Studios, General Service Studios (Hollywood Center Studios), and more. It was a close and convenient place for a celebrity to enjoy a hearty meal instead of the studio commissary or craft services. At lunchtime, it was not surprising to see Tyrone Power eating boiled brisket of beef, Janet Gaynor devouring her favorite Turkey Derby, Claudette Colbert savoring chicken hash, Eddie Cantor finishing off a hamburger steak, or Al Jolson eating chicken chow mien. Jack Benny and Mary Livingston broadcast their radio show close by at Sunset Las Palmas Studios, so it was not uncommon to see them enjoying ham for lunch. They collected a lot of “gags” around The Derby. They even wrote radio scripts there.
Everything was made fresh. In California, most fruits and vegetables were only a county away, so the dishes had that clean, freshly picked taste close to homemade flavors. Even the breads and cakes were made on-site.
Gloria Sombom Daly, daughter of legendary actress Gloria Swanson and restaurateur Herbert Sombom, inherited The Brown Derby, which had been held in trust until she reached age 30. Two years later, in 1952, she arranged with Brown Derby stockholders to relinquish her interest in the other restaurants to gain sole ownership of the original Brown Derby on Wilshire. Although the Hollywood glitterati gradually left the restaurant for other venues in the West, it flourished as an internationally known tourist attraction. Sadly, by the 1970s, the tourists had also stopped coming.
On September 19, 1980, managers on behalf of Daly paid off and dismissed the staff, telling them the domed hat would be razed the following weekend to make way for a high-rise building. Moving trucks quickly took away everything not nailed down, and all the remaining food was sent to the Los Angeles Rescue Mission. Two days later, on Sunday, the bulldozers arrived, but protesters from the Hollywood Heritage and Los Angeles Conservancy stopped the demolition. Daly agreed to sell the dome to a preservation group, and the property was sold to developers. Years later, the dome was hoisted into the center of the new Brown Derby Plaza.
The Brown Derby began a licensing program in 1987; an agreement was made with the Walt Disney Company for a replica of the original Hollywood Brown Derby at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida. Since then, many others have made such agreements, including Euro Disney, MGM Las Vegas, but none have succeeded.
In 2008, auction house Bonhams & Butterfields sold many lots of Brown Derby history, such as dishes, wall decorations, napkins, coasters, ashtrays, matchbooks, and other items. Thus, ended an 85-year history of one of Hollywood’s most famous celebrated restaurants.
Sidebar
Brown Derby Locations:
1926-1980: Los Angeles, 3427 Wilshire Boulevard
1929-1989: Hollywood, 1628 No. Vine Street
1931-1981: Beverly Hills, 9537 Wilshire Boulevard
1940-1990’s: Los Feliz, 4500 Los Feliz Boulevard
1947-1952: Bronson Commissary,1910 N. Bronson
1956-1960: Crenshaw District, 3625 W. Stocker Street
1987 - date: Orlando, Florida, Disney Studios Florida
Well-known menu items:
Cobb Salad
Grapefruit Cake
Paprika Chicken
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Order a personalized book at : LINK
Recipe for The Brown Derby’s Paprika Chicken: LINK
