Rod's Grill
RIP (1946-2023)
Rod’s Grill, a chain of diners founded by Rod Wellman in the mid 40s, closed its last surviving location in Arcadia this February. A link to Los Angeles’s midcentury heyday, it was a popular location so its demise was widely covered by the local press. Rod’s was the kind of comfortable, reliable, breakfast-all-day, no-nonsense neighborhood place that a diner should be.
Some shots I took of the exterior.
Some photos of the interior that I pulled from the Fans of Rod’s Grill Facebook group.
It was a favored filming location for Hollywood, appearing in movies like SPRUNG and shows like LAST MAN STANDING, THIS IS US, LUCK, and JUDGING AMY. It most famously played the part of a Howard Johnsons’s in an episode of MAD MEN. (The exteriors for this episode, however, were filmed at an old abandoned HoJo’s off the 10 in Baldwin Park.)
OK, cool architecture but what about the food? I ate there in January shortly before it closed. I like a classic eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast and coffee whenever I’m in a diner for breakfast. It was solid and unpretentious, just as you’d expect. I haven’t yet added a physical copy of the recent menu to my collection but thankfully Zmenu has preserved it.
The Wellman family sold the restaurant to long-time employee Manuel de Jesus Romero who ran it for 25 years. Manny sadly passed away in 2021. I assume that’s him in the photos above. Manny updated the menu, turning it into mix of classic coffee shop fare with some contemporary inclusions like avocado toast, Impossible meat, ahi tuna, White Claw, and IPAs. Not to mention the Hispanic touches like avocado/guacamole, jalapeño, and chorizo. I love that he offered a Gringo Omelet. Wonder how many other “gringo” dishes I can find in SoCal.
How does the new menu compare to old? What’s different, what’s the same? Here’s one from 1957, also found in the Fans of Rod’s Grill Facebook group. Notice how the onion rings are described as “french fried” but not the potatoes. The Low Calorie Special (“no cheating”) looks pretty low-carb/paleo to me.
The dude who posted that menu described it as the “holy grail of Rod’s” but wait, I can do better. Here’s a menu from my collection, back when there were only two locations, shortly before the Montebello one opened. I like that his has the map but mine has the building illustrations. Otherwise, the menus are pretty similar. Haven’t been able to track down a recipe for the Sour Cream Garlic dressing which was sold in grocery stores. I wonder if there are any vintage jars out there. Gotta keep my eye out for ashtrays too.
I also own some matchbooks. Doesn’t take an eagle eye to notice that a constant in the Rod’s brand was the chef of indeterminate ethnicity (French? Italian?) who clearly enjoyed eating. The portly chef mascot was pretty common during the midcentury period, lots of examples, but seems to mostly have disappeared. Deserves its own post.
What currently occupies those locations? All still restaurants. You can’t see it, it’s behind the matches, but the matchbook also lists a location at 807 N. Tustin Ave. in Orange. Unlike the other locations, which razed the buildings, I assume that’s the original structure.
Lastly, some newspaper clippings. That old sign was great, too bad they got rid of it.
The one below is from Pasadena Independent, April 13, 1959. Hard to imagine a newspaper nowadays with a regular feature called “Today’s Cutie.” (Come to think of it, hard to imagine a newspaper nowadays.) Next time I see a matronly coffee shop waitress — the kind who snaps her gum and calls you “honey” — I’m going to assume in her youth she was a water skiing enthusiast.
Rod’s may be gone but some good diners still survive in my area, even if they lack the Googie-inspired architectural pizzazz of Rod’s. Places like Russell’s in Old Town Pasadena, Andy’s on Colorado Blvd. (also the location of a MAD MEN episode and a music video starring Anna Kendrick), and The Reyn in Altadena. What are the beloved diners and coffee shops in your neighborhood?
Related
Paul Freeman’s excellent Ten Restaurants That Change America has a chapter on Howard Johnson’s.
I’m not letting a Jessica Paré reference go by without linking to her performance of “Zou Bisou Bisou.” If you don’t want the earworm, and I don’t blame you, just mute the sound. Hmm, what has she starred in lately? Need to do more research…
This was an easy, nostalgic read. I like these kinds of restaurants, and they're fewer and fewer. The IHOPs with cranky teenage fast-food servers won't cut it.