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DU-PAR'S REOPENS
RENOVATION IS COMPLETE at Du-par's Res-taurant, which originally opened at the Farmers Market in 1938.
Fresh-baked pies at Du-par’s following two-year makeover
By Laura Eversz
February 2, 2007
The pancakes rated “the best in the USA” by Esquire Magazine were selling like, well, hotcakes at the grand opening of Du-par’s Restaurant at the Farmers Market.
The famous coffee shop has been shuttered for two years for renovation after being bought by Biff Nay-lor, a restaurateur who owned Biff’s and Tiny Naylor’s. He came out of retirement to purchase the restaurant that was founded in 1938 as a nine-seat stall at the Farmers Market.
“I couldn’t let this wonderful restaurant become a footnote in the history books of Los Angeles,” Naylor said. “I felt com-pelled to save it and make it a destination for the next generation.”
The new Du-par’s boasts a 21st century kitchen in a fully-restored 1930s décor that includes the original black safe holding the restaurant’s secret pancake recipe.
Lighting fixtures are replicas of the original, acoustical ceiling tiles mimic those in place when the restaurant opened, and Naylor had vinyl booths re-created, complete with rolled trim, to replicate the old ones.
"I'M ON CLOUD NINE," owner Biff Naylor (left) said at Du-par's grand opening. Naylor is joined by daughter, Jennifer and City Councilman Tom LaBonge.
The counter was replaced by a large “community table” similar, says Naylor, to what was here when Du-par’s first opened. “The counter didn’t come along until later,” he said.
Naylor brought in daughter Jennifer, former executive chef at Wolfgang Puck’s Granita restaurant in Malibu, as a consultant, and hired Medardo Hernandez, also from Puck’s, as executive chef to expand the traditional menu to include new dishes.
But Naylor says Du-par’s will continue to serve food the old-fashioned way, with only the freshest of ingre-dients.
“We squeeze our own orange juice, grind our own hamburger meat and hand peel and cut the potatoes,” he said.
The original pie shop, accessible from inside the Farmers Market, is once again selling fresh pies that are made in Du-Par’s kitchen. And, as in the past, the dessert kitchen is behind glass so customers can watch chefs roll out the dough.
The restaurant, which added outdoor seating and patio facilities that can accommodate 50 people, will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
With the renovation that took twice as long and cost twice as much as expected behind him, Naylor is one happy man.
“I’m on cloud nine,” he said at the grand opening. “This is a wonderful day for me and a tribute to the hundreds of people who have worked here through the years.”
And, he adds, “I finally have the pancake recipe I’ve been trying for 30 years to get!”
Du-Par’s, 6333 W. Third St., 323-933-5539, www.dupars.com.