Hollywood Mourns Closure of 101 Coffee Shop

Pat Saperstein
·3 min read

Hollywood writers and comedians are mourning the closure of the 101 Coffee Shop, another restaurant victim of the pandemic.

“Because of the ongoing pandemic, the temporary closure of the 101 Coffee Shop has become permanent. This was a tough decision, but we believe there is a silver lining. It allows us to shift focus to Little Dom’s, which has become an institution in and of itself over the past 13 years, and the recently opened Little Dom’s Seafood up the coast in Carpinteria,” Warner Ebbink, the owner, said in a statement, “After almost 20 years of the 101 Coffee Shop, this closure defines the end of an era. We’ll always be grateful for the shared moments and what the restaurant brought to the LA F&B community, as well as the incredible support of our loyal guests at all our establishments.”

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Also known as Cafe 101 or simply “101,” the diner was loved for its celebrity sightings, solid jukebox, brownie waffle sundaes and creative milkshakes, and was a convenient location for those coming from the Valley or Hollywood to take meetings or talk shop into the early hours of the morning. Open until 3 a.m. before the pandemic, it was also a favorite stop after shows at Hollywood venues. Celebrities from Nicolas Cage and Ryan Gosling to Jon Hamm and Jared Leto were often spotted there.

Ebbink and chef Brandon Boudet opened the 101 Coffee Shop in the Best Western Hollywood Hills motel in 2001, then went on to buy Dominick’s and open Little Dom’s and LD Seafood. Previously known as the Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop, it was seen in the 1996 movie “Swingers” and in “Entourage.”

While dozens of restaurants have permanently closed throughout Los Angeles during the pandemic, both Swinger’s coffee shop and Nate ‘n’ Al deli eventually reopened.

Patton Oswalt tweeted, “Aw man, the 101 Coffee Shop was one of Alice’s favorite hangs,” including photos of his young daughter eating there. Director Rian Johnson replied, “So many great nights/mornings there.” Elijah Wood added, “Such a bummer” and Rosanna Arquette tweeted, “Oh no.”

Kat Dennings remembered the “purple haze milkshake,” while others recalled everything from interviewing with Sofia Coppola to edit “Lost in Translation” to first dates, breakups and auditions.

In fact, Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn wrote “Swingers” at the Hollywood Hills Coffee Shop, while the pilot for “Everybody Loves Raymond” was also written there.

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