Dinah’s Will Be Reborn in Culver City After 64 Years in Westchester (2024)

After over six decades of operation, Dinah’s Family Restaurant is closing its doors and moving down the street into Culver City due to a new development along Sepulveda Boulevard that would’ve forced the restaurant to close, as first reported by LA Weekly. The last day in the current space just off the 405 will be April 30, before it opens at Culver Crossroads on May 6 under a new name — Dinah’s Kitchen.

Dinah’s Restaurant opened in 1959 in the same Westchester corner it’s now preparing to vacate. The restaurant was known for its homestyle food like German apple pancakes, Belgian waffles, and fried chicken. The building that houses the restaurant became a Los Angeles landmark with its futurist Googie architecture and iconic fried chicken bucket.

In 2021, initial plans were filed with Los Angeles City Planning to construct a new eight-story mixed-use building on the land around Dinah’s Family Restaurant but maintain the restaurant as is. Mario Ernst, who owns the restaurants with his wife Teri, remembers feeling taken aback when he heard the property had been sold to Fairfield Industries for development. At the time, the landlord had told Ernst that he would be able to keep operating out of the current building during the planned four-year construction period, and when the construction was done, there would be a new location for the restaurant. “I was probably more overwhelmed and shell-shocked right when I heard [the initial plans],” Ernst says. “Then, as I went home and started thinking about it, I said, ‘I’ll be 68 years old by the time this thing opens up. I don’t even know if I’m going to be alive, much less want to open up a restaurant.’”

After taking time to consider his options, Ernst informed his employees of his conversation with the landlord but told them not to worry since it was still a few years down the line. In 2022 the Los Angeles Conservancy wrote to the Department of City Planning commending the developer’s plan to maintain and rehabilitate Dinah’s building.

But eight months ago, a different situation began to crystallize at the development. Instead of being able to stay open throughout construction, Dinah’s would have to close in September for three to four years while a new restaurant was being built on-site. Ernst’s mind first went to his 60 employees, some of whom have been at the restaurant for upwards of 30 years. The choice to stay and wait it out wasn’t an option for him, especially since there was no guarantee that the new rent wouldn’t price him out of the development entirely. So he began the search for a new location that could serve the same community Dinah’s always had.

Matthew Kang

Matthew Kang

Ernst found a new home for Dinah’s just down the street at Culver Crossroads, but after decades in business and the impetus for this move, he saw an opportunity for the restaurant to evolve. When it reopens on May 6, the restaurant will be renamed Dinah’s Kitchen. The change comes from a desire to expand the restaurant’s offerings and begin to experiment with the menu beyond diner classics. Ernst hopes to connect with chefs across the country to feature their dishes on the menu. Another change that will come with the new location is a new focus on using local ingredients in dishes. While Dinah’s used to use canned vegetables and pie fillings, the restaurant will now use fresh produce and work with local farms. Dinah’s has also made a new commitment to sourcing meat from local farmers.

The essence of Dinah’s will stay the same with the move, however. The food will still be priced accessibly, and the futuristic Googie architecture that the restaurant is known for will be worked into the new, more industrial, space. Most importantly, the restaurant’s iconic bucket pylon isn’t being left behind and will feature prominently in the new location.

Though Ernst has figured out a way to keep Dinah’s alive, he sees the restaurant’s struggle as part of a wider fight for small businesses affected by urbanization. Over his years watching the neighborhood through the windows at the restaurant, he’s watched small businesses close because of new developments. “That bothers me because we’re losing that sense of that place is special because whatever the cause is,” Ernst says. “It’s turning into another chain.” That concern of displacement has been echoed across Los Angeles, including in Echo Park, where fried chicken restaurant Rockbird closed due to construction next door. Popular candle shop, P.F. Candle Co. also reported lower foot traffic due to customers thinking the store was closed. The worry doesn’t come without precedent since in 2014, local deli Rolls ‘n Rye shuttered in Culver, only to be replaced by Panera Bread. In 2023 alone, the Los Angeles Times reports that over 65 well-known Los Angeles restaurants had shuttered. The issue of the proliferation of chain restaurants goes far beyond Los Angeles as well, with a nationwide trend of chains taking over where local businesses used to thrive.

Dinah’s will be joining two other iconic Culver City businesses in its new location. The restaurant’s new neighbors will be Tito’s Tacos, which opened in 1959, and Johnnie’s Pastrami which opened in 1952. Between the three restaurants, there are almost 200 years of LA history. “In a tiny angle of one block, you’ve got three of the iconic restaurants that have withstood the test of time,” Ernst says. “None of us are fancy, you know. We’re just good food with people who like going there.”

As of now, future plans have not been solidified for the original Dinah’s location.

Dinah’s Kitchen will be located at 4130 Sepulveda Blvd and is set to open on May 6, 2024. The last day at the original Dinah’s Family Restaurant location will be April 30.