Landmark Beverly Hills Eatery Closing Next Month After Nearly 30 Years
BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Kate Mantilini's, a Beverly Hills fixture on the foodie and celebrity scene for nearly three decades, is closing next month.
KCAL9's Brittney Hopper said the restaurant, known for some of the best meatloaf and mashed potatoes for miles around, will close next month to the day.
The restaurant -- located on the corner of Doheny Drive at Wilshire Boulevard -- was named after a mistress. Most people in Beverly Hills just considered it a great place to go for comfort food (have you had the Grand Marnier French toast?) and to make business deals.
Day or night, the place is packed and often with TV power brokers, movie writers, stars, producers -- Mel Brooks, Jerry Seinfeld and the Wayans Brothers are frequent guests.
"I've sat at a booth and I've listened to deals get made. I can't tell you what films but I've heard really interesting pitches," co-owner Adam Lewis told Hopper.
Co-owners Adam and David Lewis, sons of Harry and Marilyn Lewis who opened the restaurant in 1987, grew up here as their parents worked.
They say one of the hardest parts about closing after 27 years, is saying goodbye to their employees.
Robert Warren has worked at Kate's for more than 15 years.
"It's really tough," says Warren.
He will soon have to find a new job after the owners say they couldn't reach an agreement with the landlords on rent.
The restaurant will leave behind many memories. A pivotal scene in the 1995 box office smash "Heat" (starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro) was filmed inside the restaurant.
Many patrons say it's an end of an era in Beverly Hills.
"It's not wonderful news but we have our other restaurants and we will just move on," said co-owner David Lewis.
The brothers said Kate Mantilini in Woodland Hills (established in 2003) will remain open.
For more about the history of Kate Mantilini's click here.
