The Spanish Kitchen
The original Spanish Kitchen opened in 1938 and was frequented over the ensuing years by many of Hollywood's stars of that era. The couple (John & Pearl Carreto) that owned and ran the restaurant lived above in the second story and that was how it was until it abruptly closed in 1961. The restaurant sat empty for the ensuing decades and if you peeked in the window nothing was amiss, place-settings, menu's, old murals of dancing girls and cowboys........ nothing was touched.
Many rumors swirled over the years..........the couple murdered by the mob, or another version that they had a lover's quarrel, that the husband had been murdered there, and the wife wouldn't open it till the killer was found. People said they saw ghosts
Ya it was a trippy place and for sure had cemented itself in LA folklore
The truth of the matter was this,
The husband Johnny came down with Parkinson's and his wife Pearl just decided to close the place, after Johnny died in 1962 Pearl couldn't bring herself to re-open the restaurant and that's the way it stayed for all those years till Pearl passed away and the building was eventually occupied by another business (Ona Spa)
The current Spanish Kitchen is a re-creation of this famous place at a different location and the sign pictured above is an exact replica of the original.
The Spanish Kitchen
The original Spanish Kitchen opened in 1938 and was frequented over the ensuing years by many of Hollywood's stars of that era. The couple (John & Pearl Carreto) that owned and ran the restaurant lived above in the second story and that was how it was until it abruptly closed in 1961. The restaurant sat empty for the ensuing decades and if you peeked in the window nothing was amiss, place-settings, menu's, old murals of dancing girls and cowboys........ nothing was touched.
Many rumors swirled over the years..........the couple murdered by the mob, or another version that they had a lover's quarrel, that the husband had been murdered there, and the wife wouldn't open it till the killer was found. People said they saw ghosts
Ya it was a trippy place and for sure had cemented itself in LA folklore
The truth of the matter was this,
The husband Johnny came down with Parkinson's and his wife Pearl just decided to close the place, after Johnny died in 1962 Pearl couldn't bring herself to re-open the restaurant and that's the way it stayed for all those years till Pearl passed away and the building was eventually occupied by another business (Ona Spa)
The current Spanish Kitchen is a re-creation of this famous place at a different location and the sign pictured above is an exact replica of the original.