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Southern California Chain Restaurants (page 2)

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The Jim's Burgers chain was established in 1958 in Bell, CA. There were about 23 locations built in the Los Angeles area. The last one opened in 1979. There are about 18 locations still operating, independently now, with a wide variety of signs and buildings.

Jim's Burgers
Hawthorne, CA
2008: 2024:
I believe the Jim's Burgers in Hawthorne was part of the chain. The building and sign were painted red in 2021. [map]

Jim's Burgers
Los Angeles, CA		 Jim's Burgers
Los Angeles, CA
The first Jim's Burgers in Los Angeles shown above appears to be from the 1960s. [map]

The arches at the second Jim's Burgers in Los Angeles shown above seems to be unique. [map]

Jim's Burgers
South El Monte, CA		 Jim's Burgers
Rosemead, CA		 Jim's Burgers
Altadena, CA		 Jim's Burgers
Los Angeles, CA
The Jim's Burgers sign in South El Monte had a neon orb above the "Jim's" portion of the sign like this one. Many of these signs are topped with the letter "A" which is a reference to the first letter of the founder's last name, Jim Angelopoulos. [map]

The Jim's Burgers signs in Rosemead and Altadena probably had orbs on top originally. [Rosemead map]; [Altadena map]

The Altadena sign probably had neon satellite rings like this Jim's Burgers sign in Los Angeles. This Los Angeles location opened in 1972. The other Los Angeles location shown in the row below probably had these rings, too. These three rings were probably lit sequentially originally. [map]

For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

former Jim's Burgers
East Los Angeles, CA		 former Jim's Burgers
Commerce, CA		 former Jim's Burgers
Downey, CA		 Jim's Burgers [gone]
Hawaiian Gardens, CA
The Jim's Burgers location in East Los Angeles is gone but the sign remains and has been adapted by a CVS drug store. The sign and building looked like this. [map]

The Jim's Burgers location in Commerce has housed Xris Burgers since at least 2007. [map]

The former Jim's Burgers in Downey was built in 1961. In recent years, it was known as the Golden Ox. It was operating as Tony's Restaurant when these photos were taken in 2012. The Jim's sign was adapted. By 2014, the restaurant was housing Sunny's Sushi & Grill. The plastic panels on the sign now reads "Suny". For more, see this website. [map]

This Jim's Burgers in Hawaiian Gardens closed in 2018. The building was remodeled and the sign was gone by 2019. The sign's spear was previously painted turquoise. It had been repainted red sometime after 2011. This photo is from 2015.

Jim's Drive-In
Pico Rivera, CA
2008: 2013:
I believe this Jim's Drive-In in Pico Rivera was part of the Jim's Burger chain described above. The location now houses an Albert's Mexican Food restaurant. [map]

Mel's Drive-in
West Hollywood, CA
The original Mel's Drive-in opened in San Francisco in 1947. It was featured in the 1972 movie "American Graffiti". The chain was sold in 1972 and the building demolished. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1985. Mel's Drive-in now has seven locations in California.

The West Hollywood location occupies the former Ben Frank's restaurant. Ben Frank's was designed by Lane & Schlick and built in 1962. It closed in 1995. The building was nearly demolished before Mel's Drive-in stepped in and opened here in 1997. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Mel's Drive-in Celebrity Bar
Los Angeles, CA
The Mel's Drive-in Celebrity Bar and the Hollywood History Museum occupy the Max Factor Building. The four-story building was constructed in 1913. Max Factor bought the building and had it remodeled in 1935. The one story building next to it was built at the same time. The designer for both buildings was S. Charles Lee, most famous for his movie theatres. The upper floors were used for make-up production while the ground floor featured make-up salons. In later years, the building was used as the Max Factor Museum. In 1996, Proctor & Gamble sold the building to a developer. The museum opened here in 2002 while Mel's opened in 2005. [map]

Mel's Drive-in
Sherman Oaks, CA
This Mel's Drive-in building originally housed Dyle's Restaurant. It was designed by Helen Fong of Armet & Davis and built in 1953. It began housing Kerry's Coffee Shop in 1963 or 1964. Kerry's closed in 1980. Mel's moved into the building in 1989. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

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