Fans of the historic Formosa Cafe along Route 66 in West Hollywood, California, have endured a mix of good news and bad news this month.
The bad news is the restaurant, which dates to 1925 at 7156 Santa Monica Blvd., closed abruptly not long after New Year’s Day.
However, the Formosa building remains protected by the city’s preservation ordinance (including its main exterior features and neon sign), and the property’s leasing agent pledged to find a long-term tenant to reopen the space within eight to 12 months, according to Curbed Los Angeles.
The restaurant wasn’t much to look at inside, reported KPCC radio:
But you didn’t go there for the food or the drinks. You went there because the Formosa was woven into the fabric of Hollywood History. Or, as crime writer Denise Hamilton says, “when you’re sitting in those red banquette booths and getting sloshed because everyone from Frank Sinatra’s to Orson Welles’ to Marilyn’s fanny has warmed that exact leatherette and sipped from those exact highball glasses with the red maraschino cherry, and therein lies the magic.” ]…\
“The Formosa was one of these very old Hollywood eateries where it didn’t cost a fortune, you didn’t have to be famous to get in … and you might see Cher, Bono, or Jack Nicholson.”
The Formosa Cafe became a hangout for actors because it sat near several movie-studio lots. Among the other stars reportedly seen there included John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley, Humphrey Bogart, Clark Gable and Ava Gardner.
The restaurant also was used in a scene in the Oscar-winning “L.A. Confidential.”
The film “La La Land,” which seems certain to earn a bunch of Academy Award nominations this month, also featured a scene in the Formosa Cafe.
With the right new operator and a bit of luck, the Formosa will create new memories and more movie scenes in a year or so.
(Image of the Formosa Cafe in 2012 by Don Barrett via Flickr)