Du-par's

Du-par's

Du-par's

American diner-style restaurant chain

Du-par's is a diner-style restaurant in Los Angeles, California, that was once a modest-sized regional chain. It was founded in 1938 by James Dunn and Edward Parsons, who combined their surnames to create the restaurant's name. The original location still exists at the Los Angeles Farmers Market in Los Angeles' Fairfax District.[1] There is also an associated franchised restaurant at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.[2]

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Overview

After 20 years of ownership, the Oberst family sold the chain in 2004 to an investment group led by W.W. "Biff" Naylor, son of noted California restaurateur Tiny Naylor (of Biff's and Tiny Naylor's restaurants) for an undisclosed amount. At the time of the sale, there were three locations: the original restaurant at the Farmers Market; Studio City; and Thousand Oaks.[3][4] After 31 years, the Thousand Oaks location closed and was demolished in 1991 to make way for the construction of a new shopping center.[5]

Former Studio City location of Du-par's in 2008

Du-par's expanded in 2009 to include several locations from the bankrupt Bakers Square chain.[6][7] One of them, Du-Par's in Oxnard, eventually closed in August 2012.[8]

Another was in San Diego's Midway district.[9] It closed in September 2015[10] and reopened in the Gaslamp Quarter in August 2016.[11] That location then closed in February 2017.[12]

In 2010, Du-par's expanded for the first time outside California by opening a restaurant-bakery in the Golden Gate Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.[13] A second Las Vegas-area location was opened in the Suncoast Hotel and Casino in April 2016.[14] The Du-par's Restaurant & Bakery inside the Golden Gate Casino closed for financial reasons on February 7, 2017.[15][16] In March 2017, Boyd Gaming, the owners of the Suncoast Hotel and Casino, signed a licensing agreement to assume management of the Du-par's restaurant in their casino while retaining the Du-par's name and recipes.[17]

When Naylor bought a Hamburger Hamlet in Bethesda, Maryland in 2012, he rebranded it as "Du-par's Hamburger Hamlet", bringing the chain to the East Coast;[18] that location however closed for good in 2013.[19] Du-par's then took over a former Hamburger Hamlet in Pasadena, California in 2014.[20]

In May 2015, a new location was opened in Encino;[21] it closed in November 2016.[22]

The Studio City location closed on December 31, 2017.[23]

The chain was then purchased by former manager Frances Tario in 2018. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the struggling Farmers Market restaurant started carhop service to increase business[24] after trying the idea of selling pancake batter for pick-up orders when the California governor Gavin Newsom forbade dining inside restaurants.[25] Meanwhile, the Pasadena location was forced to close as a result of the pandemic, [26][27][28] leaving only the Farmers Market restaurant and the one at Las Vegas' Suncoast Hotel and Casino left.[2][29]

Media

Du-par's was featured in the Amazon Studios show Bosch. Main characters, including Harry Bosch and Eleanor Wish, dined at Du-par's during pivotal moments in Season 4.[30]

In Michael Connelly's 2011 legal thriller The Fifth Witness, protagonist Michael "Mickey" Haller states that he and his fourteen-year-old daughter regularly ate at the Du-par’s in Studio City.[31]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Jennings, Lisa (November 8, 2004). "Naylor to buy Du-Par's, taps Puck chef to revamp menu". Nation's Restaurant News. Archived from the original on May 21, 2005. Retrieved March 11, 2009.
  2. [2]
    "Du-par's". Suncoast Hotel and Casino.
  3. [3]
    Biederman, Patricia Ward (June 24, 2004). "Du-par's Changing Hands but Not Heart or Soul: The Farmers Market institution is being sold, but the new owner promises not to alter its recipe for success". Los Angeles Times.
  4. [4]
    Wilcox, Gregory J. (June 24, 2004). "Du-Par's Cafe Chain Sold to Naylor Family". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017 – via The Free Library.
  5. [5]
    Lee, Peggy Y. (March 7, 1991). "Thousand Oaks : Planners Approve Du-par's Demolition". Los Angeles Times.
  6. [6]
    McKinnon, Lisa (March 2, 2009). "Bad economy hasn't eaten at county's food industry". Ventura County Star.
  7. [7]
    "Cafe Society: Ventura's old Mission Bell Cafe rings up ice-cream sales now". Ventura County Star. February 22, 2009.
  8. [8]
    McKinnon, Lisa (August 25, 2012). "Cafe Society: The Cave's chef Gary Daniel pays it forward, moves on". Ventura County Star.
  9. [9]
    Bedford, Ed (August 10, 2011). "Beat the Clock at Du-par's Restaurant & Bakery". San Diego Reader.
  10. [10]
    Woo, Candice (September 21, 2015). "Du-par's is Downtown's New 24-Hour Dining Destination: Breakfast for dinner anyone?". Eater San Diego.
  11. [11]
    Woo, Candice (August 10, 2016). "24-Hour Diner Du-par's Enters Downtown Dining Scene: Breakfast for dinner, 365 days a year". Eater San Diego.
  12. [12]
    Woo, Candice (February 20, 2017). "Time's Up for Du-par's 24-Hour Diner in the Gaslamp: The eatery goes dark after just six months". Eater San Diego.
  13. [13]
    Radke, Brock (May 1, 2010). "What's become of my diner?: Good things, as it turns out, courtesy of Du-par's". Las Vegas Sun.
  14. [14]
    Martin, Bradley (April 14, 2016). "Du-Par's Now 'Always Open' at Suncoast: A favorite restaurant of The Killers heads west". Eater Las Vegas.
  15. [15]
    Torres-Cortez, Ricardo (February 7, 2017). "Du-Par's restaurant closes at the Golden Gate". Las Vegas Sun.
  16. [16]
    Stapleton, Susan (February 7, 2017). "When the Clock Strikes Midnight, Du-par's Shutters: The 24-hour restaurant closes". Eater Las Vegas.
  17. [17]
    Moore, Thomas (March 31, 2017). "Du-par's restaurant at Suncoast changing hands". Las Vegas Sun.
  18. [18]
    "Du-par's Bringing Famous West Coast Brand East | BethesdaNow". Bethesda Now. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  19. [19]
    "Du-par's Hamburger Hamlet Closed | BethesdaNow". Bethesda Now. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  20. [20]
    "Hamburger Hamlet in Pasadena closes to become Du-par's". Pasadena Star-News. January 2, 2014.
  21. [21]
    Coser, Crystal (May 7, 2015). "Du-par's Encino Celebrates Grand Opening With Original 1938 Prices: That means you can get a hamburger, pancake, slice of pie, and coffee, all for well under a buck". Eater LA.
  22. [22]
    Elliott, Farley (November 23, 2016). "Du-Par's Stops Flipping Pancakes in Encino Less than Two Years In: The diner option couldn't last in the Valley". Eater LA.
  23. [23]
    Elliott, Farley (December 11, 2017). "Classic Valley Diner Du-Par's Will Depart Studio City on January 1: The company wants to return to the Valley, they just don't know where". Eater LA.
  24. [24]
    Folven, Edwin (July 16, 2020). "Classic carhop service at Du-par's brings back the casual dining of yesteryear". Beverly Press.
  25. [25]
    Schena, Susan C. (April 20, 2020). "Du-par's Legendary Pancake Batter Will Get You Through Lockdown". Yahoo! News.
  26. [26]
    Nichols, Chris (July 27, 2020). "Some of L.A.'s Most Beloved Institutions Are Threatened with Extinction". Los Angeles.
  27. [27]
    Bermont, Bradley (May 19, 2020). "Has Du-par's Pasadena location closed for good?". Pasadena Star-News.
  28. [28]
    "Du-Pars Restaurant Shutters Pasadena Location Permanently Due To Pandemic-Related Financial Struggles". KCBS-TV. May 20, 2020.
  29. [29]
    "Locations". Du-par's. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  30. [30]
    "All the LA bars and restaurants featured in modern noir cop show Bosch". 19 April 2019.
  31. [31]
    Connelly, Michael; The Fifth Witness, Little, Brown and Company (2011), ISBN 0316069353
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