Tommy's

Infobox_Company
company_name = Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers
company_
company_type = Private
company_slogan = If you don't see the shack take it back!
foundation = Los Angeles, California, USA (1946) | location = Glendale, California
key_people = Tommy Koulax, Founder (1918-1992)

industry = Fast food restaurants
products = hamburgers, hot dogs, tamales, chili, french fries, soft drinks
homepage = [http://www.originaltommys.com/ www.originaltommys.com]

Original Tommy's is a Southern California American hamburger chain, known for its chili-cheeseburgers.

History

The original location was opened on May 15, 1946, by Tom Koulax (October 26, 1918 - May 28, 1992), the son of Greek immigrants, on the northeast corner of Beverly and Rampart Boulevards west of downtown Los Angeles. The stand, which still stands today, sold hamburgers and hot dogs topped with chili. At first business was slow, but started to pick up. During the 1960s, the entire lot at this intersection was purchased. Soon after, the northwest corner was acquired for expanded parking and storage of goods. Not long after that, a second service counter occupying the building at the perimeter of the northeast lot was set up. The food was essentially the same from both counters, yet the original shack counter often had longer lines, perhaps for nostalgic reasons.

In the 1970s, Tommy's initiated a conservative expansion plan, growing from the original location to 30 locations in 2006. Tommy's does not expand to more than a handful of locations per year. Most Original Tommy's restaurants are found in the Greater Los Angeles Area. There are also Original Tommy's restaurants in San Diego, Barstow, Palmdale, La Habra, Riverside, Henderson, and most recently, in Lake Forest.

The company is based in Glendale, California, and is run by the late Mr. Koulax' family. The restaurants are all company-owned, and there are no plans for the company to offer any franchised locations.

Chili

A ladle or two of Koulax' signature chili tops nearly every available menu item, even the breakfast sandwich. Original Tommy's chili is a mixture of an all-beef chili con carne base, flour, water, and a "secret" blend of spices, and resembles a condiment more than a conventional bowl of chili. The flour-water mixture allows the chili to "set up" and stick better to the burger or fries. The chili is arguably the source of Original Tommy's success and staying power, and the trade secret that imitators are unable to duplicate to the satisfaction of Tommy's enthusiasts.

Culture

Many Original Tommy's restaurants, including the inaugural Beverly and Rampart location, are open 24 hours. It is common to see a line of patrons around the block at all hours. A night-time trip to Tommy's is often referred to as a "Tommy's run" - the catchphrase "Make a Tommy's Run" appears on some of the restaurant's T-shirts. The clientele encompass the full spectrum of Angelenos - it is common to see well-dressed businessmen eating alongside folks in bathrobes.

Some of the newer suburban locations, such as the Simi Valley and Duarte locations have more conventional hours of operation.

Menu

All sandwiches and tamales are served with a standard garnish of chopped onions, hand-sliced tomatoes, pickles, mustard, and chili, unless otherwise requested. As of 2004, stores are also offering Thousand Island dressing and lettuce on request for burgers.

All locations serve Pepsi Cola branded beverages; iced tea is fresh brewed, except at the Beverly Blvd. location, which does not have the facilities, and serves cans of Lipton Brisk iced tea.

;Hamburger;Cheeseburger;Double Hamburger;Double Cheeseburger;Triple Hamburger;Triple Cheeseburger;Hot dogs;Tamales:Steamed XLNT brand tamales, with a ladle-full of chili atop them;Chili Boat :Simply a paper "boat" with chili, topped with tomato, onion, and pickle slices;French Fries;Chili Fries, Chili-Cheese Fries:Simply an order of french fries with two ladles of chili over them. The chili cheese fries will have a slice of cheese placed between the doses of chili, to aid in melting.;Breakfast Sandwich:Replaces the hamburger patty with a sausage patty and fried egg. Served with the standard toppings (including a generous ladle of chili) with mayonnaise instead of mustard. Only available in the morning. The breakfast sandwich can be ordered on an english muffin instead of a hamburger bun.

Most locations also offer prepackaged chips and snack items at the counter.

Advertising and Marketing

Except for a brief flirtation with radio advertising in the 1990s, Original Tommy's has relied on word-of-mouth advertising to gain popularity.

The popularity of Original Tommy's restaurant has prompted a string of similarly named restaurants, such as the unaffiliated Tommie's Hamburgers found in several Los Angeles area shopping malls. The slogan "If you don't see the shack, take it back", referring to the original Beverly and Rampart "shack" location depicted on the company logo, is intended to distinguish Tom Koulax' restaurants from imitators. This is somewhat analogous to the surplus of "Ray's Pizza" restaurants in New York City.

Trivia

*The building on the northwest corner of Beverly and Rampart has the name "Tomasito's" over its door. Originally, this was a Mexican restaurant by that name, and it was serendipitous that the name was on the building when Koulax purchased it. It is currently used for pantry storage.

*Tommy's is famous for serving its food at record speeds, especially when ordered from inside the restaurant and not through the drive-thru. Most customers, even on busy days, are served within a minute of ordering their meal. In fact, customers often receive their orders right after receiving their receipts.

*On May 15, 2006, for its 60th annivarsary celebration, the store on Beverly and Rampart sold its cheeseburger combo (the #2) for US$0.60.

*The restaurant has made an appearance in Grandma's Boy

Other

Other hamburger chains that have started in the Los Angeles area include Bob's Big Boy, Fatburger, The Hat, In-N-Out Burger (Baldwin Park), Carl's Jr. (Anaheim) and McDonald's (San Bernardino).

External links

* [http://www.originaltommys.com/ Original Tommy's]
* [http://beta.zooomr.com/photos/thomashawk/570242/ Tommy's menu board, December 2006]