Callahan’s Diner from “Zodiac”

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In the early years of our relationship the Grim Cheaper lived in Santa Monica, just a few blocks from a local staple named Callahan’s Diner.  Even though I knew the eatery was a filming location and supposedly served up some fabulous grub, for whatever reason we never ventured in for a meal.  I am kicking myself now, too, because the restaurant, which has been in operation since 1948, is set to close at the end of the year.  So when I found myself in the area a couple of weeks ago, I seized the opportunity to snaps some pics of the place.

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It was late afternoon when I stopped by Callahan’s, just a few minutes before I had to pick the GC up from a meeting, so, unfortunately, I did not have time to grab a bite to eat.  But the owner, Abraham Vazquez, was nice enough to spend some time chatting with me and invited me to snap all of the photographs of the place that I wanted.

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The Streamline Moderne-style building that houses Callahan’s – and the neighboring Vienna Pastry – was constructed by restaurateur Art Groves in 1946 for his eponymous Groves Restaurant and Bakery.  In 1948, he leased out the restaurant portion of the property to Melvin Callahan and Callahan’s Diner was born.  The café proved successful for four decades.  In 1988, Melvin sold the site to Abraham, who thankfully kept Callahan’s name, décor and menu intact.  While Abraham also enjoyed a long, successful run, he recently announced that Callahan’s will be shutting its doors on December 31st.  A new company, LGO Hospitality, purchased the building not long ago and made plans to raise Vazquez’s rent when his lease is up at the end of the year.  He, sadly, cannot afford the price hike.  The good news is that LGO has a long history of preserving historical locations and announced in a press release that while the Callahan’s menu will be transformed, the floor plan and décor will remain largely the same.

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Callahan’s has appeared onscreen a few times over the years, most notably in the 2007 thriller Zodiac.  The eatery was featured in three scenes from the movie – well, sort of.  It first popped up as the supposed San Francisco-area diner where Inspectors David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) discussed some handwriting samples over a BLT sandwich.

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Towards the middle of the film, it was used in the scene in which Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) bought David lunch and informed him that books on cyphers had been stolen from both the Presidio Library and the Oakland Army Terminal Library.

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Now here’s where things get weird.  The third scene to take place at Callahan’s involved Robert sharing with David the various evidence he had compiled on suspect Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch).  Prior to stalking the restaurant, I had come across a piece of Zodiac trivia on IMDB that stated, “Though Callahan’s Diner was a set built for the film, the Callahan’s Diner logo and window script is identical to that used by Callahan’s Diner at 1213 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica, California.”   I assumed the trivia was bupkis, especially once Abraham had confirmed for me that filming had actually taken place on the premises.  But while watching the third scene that was supposedly shot at the eatery, I noticed that some portions of the interior did not match up to what was shown in the earlier scenes or to the real Callahan’s interior.

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What first tipped me off to the inconsistencies was when David was shown leaving Callahan’s through a door located on the restaurant’s western side – a door that does not exist in the real life space.  A partition separating the entryway from the booths was also visible in that segment of the scene.  There is no such partition at Callahan’s, though, as you can see below.

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Callahan's Santa Monica Zodiac (8 of 16)

There was no such door or partition in that area in the earlier scene in which David and William discussed handwriting samples, either.

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What was shown in the handwriting sample scene does match perfectly to the real restaurant, though, as you can see below.

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A wide shot of the restaurant was also featured in the evidence scene and, again, it does not match the real life interior of Callahan’s.

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Nor does it match what was shown in the earlier lunch scene.

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The interior shown in the lunch scene does match the actual Callahan’s interior, though.  All of this leads me to believe that, as implausible as it may sound, while the lunch scene and handwriting sample scene were filmed on location at Callahan’s, the evidence scene was shot on a set modeled to look like it.  The reason this was done is anyone’s guess.

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Callahan's Santa Monica Zodiac (5 of 16)

Abraham also informed me that Callahan’s Diner had been used in music videos for both Snoop Dogg and Lionel Richie, but I am unsure of which videos.  If any of my fellow stalkers are aware, please let me know.

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For more stalking fun, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Los Angeles magazine online.  And you can check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic, here.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Callahan’s Diner, from Zodiac, is located at 1213 Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica.   You can visit the eatery’s official Facebook page here.

Johnie’s Coffee Shop Restaurant on Wilshire

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Because I encountered so much filming location misinformation while researching my post on Bob’s Big Boy Broiler in Downey last week, I decided that I just had to write a blog about the place’s sister eatery, the now-defunct Johnie’s Coffee Shop Restaurant on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile District of Los Angeles, which has also appeared in countless productions over the years.  So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out to stalk the place this past Saturday afternoon.

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Johnie’s Coffee Shop Restaurant, which was originally named Romeo’s Time Square, was built in 1955 by Louis Armet and Eldon Davis, the Googie-style architecture firm that was once deemed the “Frank Lloyd Wright of ‘50s coffee shops” by author Merrill Shindler in a 2009 Daily Breeze article that is sadly no longer available online.   The Armet and Davis duo was also responsible for creating the Norm’s Restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard, the iconic Schwab’s Pharmacy on Sunset Boulevard, the now-demolished Holiday Bowl bowling alley on Crenshaw Boulevard, and Twain’s Restaurant in Studio City, which was featured in fave movie A Lot Like Love.  The sleek, bright, space-age construction of Romeo’s was designed to catch the attention of passing motorists and lure them – and their wallets – in for a bite to eat.

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Romeo’s Time Square went through several changes in ownership and name in the ensuing years, becoming “Ram’s Restaurant” in the 1960s and then, finally, Johnie’s Coffee Shop Restaurant shortly thereafter.  In 1994, the property was purchased by the Gold family, owners of the 99 Cents Only Store chain, who sadly shuttered the eatery in 2000.  The building has thankfully remained intact, though, and its parking lot is now being used by a 99 Cents Only Store located nearby.  As you can see above, the store even made use of one of the original Johnie’s signs, which I think is so incredibly cool.

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In 2003, the Gold family made a few restorations to the shuttered restaurant, including repainting the exterior, fixing the cantilevered roof, and repairing the many burnt-out lights on the exterior neon signage.  According to this July 15th, 2004 article which appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Eric Schiffer, president of the 99 Cents Only Stores, would like to see the place re-open as a restaurant someday.  He said, “This needs to be done in a special way.  We’re open to hearing creative uses.  We just don’t have time to go out and market the building.”  Here’s hoping that a savior steps in soon, much like Bob’s Big Boy did with Johnie’s Broiler in Downey, and restores the historic eatery to its former 1950’s glory.  Surprisingly, despite being closed for more than a decade, the restaurant appears to be in pretty good shape.  I was able to snap the above photographs of Johnie’s interior through the many windows, on which the shades were, thankfully, not drawn.

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Thanks to its futuristic and streamlined design, Johnie’s has long been a location scout favorite.  In a very prominent scene from 1988’s Miracle Mile, the eatery was where Harry Washello (aka Anthony Edwards) learned that the world was about to end.

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In 1992’s Reservoir Dogs, Johnie’s was where Mr. Orange (aka Tim Roth) met up with his superior.

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In the 1997 disaster flick Volcano, Johnie’s pops up very briefly in the scene in which the firefighters of Los Angeles stand off against the lava from a nearby volcano.

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In 1998’s Very Bad Things, Johnie’s was where Michael Berkow (aka Jeremy Piven) announced to a roomful of confused diners that he had just killed his brother.

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In 1998’s The Big Lebowski, Johnie’s was where The Dude (aka Jeff Bridges) and Walter Sobchak (aka John Goodman) discussed severed toes, victimless crime, and First Amendment rights.

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Johnie’s popped up in 1998’s City of Angels as the spot where Nathaniel Messinger (aka Dennis Franz) told Seth (aka Nicolas Cage) how to become a human.

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The diner was featured at the end of 1998’s American History X as the place where Derek Vinyard (aka Edward Norton) and his younger brother Danny Vinyard (aka Edward Furlong) stop to grab a bite to eat before heading over to Venice High School.

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Johnie’s also appeared in the 1999 music video for the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ song “Swingin’”, which starred The Mentalist’s Robin Tunney and which you can watch by clicking here.

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And the restaurant showed up in 2004 in Reba McEntire’s music video for her song “Somebody”.

Reba McEntire – Somebody Video Filmed at Johnie’s Coffee Shop Restaurant

You can watch that video by clicking above.

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The diner was featured prominently in the 2007 music video for Sean Kingston’s “Beautiful Girls”, which is SUCH a great song, by the way!  I literally cannot stop listening to it!

Sean Kingston–Beautiful Girls Video filmed at Johnie’s Coffee Shop Restaurant

You can watch that video by clicking above.  But be forewarned – it is HIGHLY addictive!

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!  Smile

Stalk It: Johnie’s Coffee Shop Restaurant is located at 6101 Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile District of Los Angeles.