‘It’s Sad’ : Cultural Landmark Dream Dies Hard at Tiny Naylor’s

The air outside Tiny Naylor’s coffee shop in Studio City on Wednesday was blazing hot. The mood inside the coffee shop and the neighboring carwash was hotter yet.

A little more than an hour after the Los Angeles Cultural Commission rejected a proposal to designate the coffee shop, carwash and adjoining gas station as cultural landmarks, proponents of the plan gathered in Tiny Naylor’s to plot counterattacks.

They were disappointed but not discouraged.

“This is just a setback that we’re surprised at,” said Walter McIntyre, president of Studio City’s Briarcliff Improvement Assn. “This was a shot in the arm that we needed to show that we have a lot more work to do.”

McIntyre sat at a table with several other campaigners who want to save the three businesses at the southeast corner of Laurel Canyon and Ventura boulevards. They blasted the commission’s vote while munching on hamburgers and salads.

“This place is history, but now they want to do away with it in 90 days,” McIntyre said. “The process is absurd.”

Fight Not Over

Jack McGrath, organizer of the cultural landmark campaign, said the proponents were “just beginning to fight.”

He said the group would next try to persuade Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents a portion of Studio City, and other San Fernando Valley councilmen such as Michael Woo and John Ferraro, to save the corner.

“This will impact thousands of people, and our politicians will have to listen,” McGrath said. “If you put enough people power together, the councilmen will pay attention to the homeowners.”

Not everyone was so optimistic.

Pat Galati, who operates the carwash and station under a lease from Unocal, said he had already started advising his 38 employees to look for other work.

“This is really hard for me because a lot of them have been with me for a long time,” Galati said. “I’m talking to other gas stations and dealers about taking them on, but this really hurts me.”

Freddy Acuna, who has been a cook at Tiny Naylor’s for 23 years, was grilling a steak when he heard the news.

“I was expecting this,” said Acuna, 39. “It’s sad. When you’ve been someplace this long, you get used to the customers and the people. But now maybe it’s time to try something different.”

Acuna said he already had another part-time job in a factory that makes faucets. “Maybe I’ll do that full time,” he said.

Fernando Cuevas, district vice president for Tiny Naylor’s, said jobs would be found in other restaurants of the chain for all those who want them.

Actor Bart Sterling, 52, and writer Al Corbino, 41, sat at the counter fidgeting with their lunches after hearing the bad news.

“I would be lost without this place,” said Sterling, who has been eating at the coffee shop for 15 years. “I don’t have a kitchen, so I come here every day. I love it. It’s a crime what they want to do.”

Corbino, a customer for 10 years, said he once wrote a science-fiction movie script in the coffee shop.

Special Atmosphere

“This place is magical,” he said. “I can come here at 3 or 4 in the morning and get good food. It’s a special corner. The whole atmosphere is inspirational.”

Jane Davis, 53, who works in a nearby drugstore, said she would come to the coffee shop and the carwash on her days off. “This place would be missed by a lot of people,” she said. “They should do what they can to save it.”

Sal Galati, general manager of the carwash and Pat’s brother, seemed stunned by the decision. “It’s unbelievable, it’s just unbelievable,” he repeated. “I’m at a total loss of what to say.”

A few moments later, he decided what to say: “Life goes on.”

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