Johnie's Broiler

Johnie's Broiler was a restaurant located in Downey, California from 1958 until 2001. From 2002-2006 It was a used car dealership. It was largely demolished in January, 2007. Johnie's Broiler has been featured in several movies and TV shows due to its "authentic" 1950's look. As of 2008, the building is being reconstructed.

History

Johnie's Broiler is a Googie style coffee shop and drive-in restaurant founded and initially named after owner Harvey Ortner. He and his wife Minnie Ortner purchased the former poultry farm property located on Firestone Boulevard and Old River School Road in 1950 and hired architect Paul B. Clayton to design the restaurant. Harvey's Broiler was completed in 1958. Its design incorporates Southern California Googie architectural elements intended to help attract customers and motorists traveling in either direction on Firestone Boulevard.

Harvey's Broiler was an overnight success and thousands of people came from all over the United States to experience the phenomenon of "The Broiler."Fact|date=January 2008 The restaurant was renamed Johnie's Broiler in 1966 after current owner Christos "Johnnie" Smyrniotis bought it from Harvey Ortner in 1965. Smyrniotis had been employed as a chef at The Broiler. Legend has it that it was named "Johnie's Broiler" instead of the more commonly spelled "Johnnie" because the extra "n" would not fit on the sign. The famous "Fat Boy" mascot, modeled on the famous Bob's Big Boy character, was added in 1966.

During The Broiler's heyday, hot rods and "Kustom Kars" would cruise a route of popular carhop drive-in restaurants. One of the cruise circuits began in Long Beach at Grisinger's (now George's) drive-in, continuing on to Holly's (featured in the movie "Pulp Fiction" just prior to its demolition) in Hawthorne on to the Wich Stand on Slauson and Overhill, and ending in Downey at the famous "Broiler". As many as 3,000 young people took part in the ritual on some nights.Fact|date=January 2008

In 1988, Lee Mcullough started up Harvey's Cruise Nite in tribute to the broiler's heyday of 1960s and late 50's cruising. A DJ Randy Roubal played oldies and hundreds of hot rods and vintage cars from the 30s to the early 70's attended the popular cruise nite on each Wed evening. In July 1990, because of a dispute with the owner, the Mcullough Cruise Nite ended.

On New Year's Eve 2001, Johnie's Broiler closed its doors and stopped operating as a restaurant. Early in 2002 it was leased and converted into a used car dealership by new operators. Smyrniotis still owns the property.

In 2002, following a local grassroots campaign (led by Adriene Biondo and Alan Leib of the Los Angeles Conservancy's Modern Committee and Analisa Hungerford of the Friends of Johnie's advocacy group) to preserve the drive-in restaurant's exterior, the State of California's Historic Resources Commission unanimously voted to include Johnie's Broiler on the State's official Register of Historical Places. Approval of the property's owner is also required, however, Smyrniotis objected on economic grounds. Nonetheless, The Broiler's "eligible" status offers the same protections as if it were actually listed. Fact|date=January 2008

Illegal demolition

On Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007, authorities halted demolition of Johnie's Broiler after much destruction had already been done. Initial reports indicate that no demolition permits had been issued for the property. Bulldozers began their work around 3 p.m. Judging by early photographs, it appeared that much of the main structure has been heavily damaged, leaving the large main sign, front facade and car canopy structures still remaining upright. The tenant at the time, Ardas Yanik, reportedly "pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor charges stemming from the demolition and had his lease forfeited." cite web | last = Perdomo| first = Daniela| title = Getting fired up over Johnie's Broiler| publisher = Los Angeles Times| date = 2007-12-23| url = http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-broiler23dec23,1,3084822.story?track=rss| accessdate = 2008-02-04 ]

A report in the Los Angeles Times by Valerie Reitman credits Helen Burns, who had been part of the 2002 drive to designate the restaurant as a state historic landmark, with noticing the demolition around 5 p.m. on Jan. 7.Fact|date=January 2008 The original kitchen and the back of the coffee shop had been demolished by the time Burns arrived. She phoned the police and then began phoning other preservationists and car buffs, urging them to notify the police as well.

Police arrived on the scene within a half-hour and stopped the illegal demolition, according to Reitman. "People could have been injured or killed; the electrical was live," noted Downey City Councilman Mario Guerra. Fact|date=January 2008 By that time, much of the structure had been demolished but Friends of Johnie's joined with fans, neighbors, classic car clubs, cruisers and preservationists to rally for Johnie's and coordinated the sale of t-shirts with events, cruises and kept attention focused on the demolished building. By April 2008, a lease was signed between Bob's Big Boy franchise owner Jim Louder and the property owner. Plans are currently in the works to reconstruct the building and its famous neon signage. cite web | last = Perdomo| first = Daniela| title = Getting fired up over Johnie's Broiler| publisher = Los Angeles Times| date = 2007-12-23| url = http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-broiler23dec23,1,3084822.story?track=rss| accessdate = 2008-02-04 ]

cite web | last = Gonzaga| first = Samantha| title = Bob's Big Boy to Replace Johnie's| publisher = Long Beach Press Telegram| date = 2008-04-08| url = http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_8857848| accessdate = 2008-04-08 ]

Movies and television

Johnie's Broiler has been featured in several popular movies and TV shows because of its authentic 1950's look. Some of the films and TV shows that it was featured in are:

* "One Hour Photo", a 2002 motion picture directed by Mark Romanek. Coffee shop where the Robin Williams' character has his meals. The illuminated outdoor neon sign is seen at the beginning of the first coffee shop scene.
* "The Beach Boys - An American Family", a 2000 ABC-TV movie. Used as an authentic location depicting life in 1960s Los Angeles, complete with vintage hot rods & roadsters.
* "The X-Files" - Johnie's posed as a bus station for a 1999 episode.
* "License to Drive", forever immortalized as "Archie's Atomic Drive-In".
* "What's Love Got to Do with It", coffee shop used where the fight scene occurred between Ike & Tina Turner.
* "Can't Hardly Wait", with a great crane shot showing an aerial view of Johnie's and the Fat Boy
* "Jawbreaker"
* "Unstrung Heroes"
* "Midnight Madness"
* "Reality Bites"
* "Short Cuts"
* "The Country Bears"
* "Matchstick Men"
* "Pulp Fiction"
* "Heat"
* "The Game"
* "Mission Impossible 2"
* "Bounce", in the scene where Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck exit the restaurant.

References

* [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-broiler9jan09,1,6713818.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california Reitman, Valerie. (2007, Jan. 9). "Johnie's Broiler is cooked, to longtime fans' dismay". The Los Angeles Times]
* http://www.seeing-stars.com/Locations/1993Locations1.shtml Some movies that were filmed here]
* [http://welovemidcenturymodern.org/johniesbroiler/index.html]
* [http://www.SaveHarveysBroiler.com/]
* [http://www.LosAngelesConservancy.org/]
* [http://www.RoadsidePeek.com/]