Heirs of a Hollywood starlet have sold the storied gathering spot Off Vine to developers ... for a parking lot.
They paved paradise to put up a parking lot ...It seemed like old times at my favorite Hollywood restaurant the other night. The rains had stopped and everyone was coming out for their favorite California comfort food. A fire was crackling in the fireplace and dessert soufflés were puffing up in the ovens. The party room upstairs was packed with 35 colleagues at a celebratory business dinner and downstairs every table was filled. But something strange was happening.
With my friends and neighbors I found camaraderie and a warm welcome at Off Vine for over 30 years. Like so many other Angelenos, we built memories here and shared delicious meals.We also formed a society here called the Oy Luck Club, a tongue-in-cheek title that conveyed this was a place to have a good time. We celebrated birthdays and anniversaries. Some us brought our children as babies and they grew up with this special group of aunts and uncles.
Years later, I would move to Hollywood, but those places were mostly gone, torn down in the march toward modernization. The celebrated history of the movie capital would become confined to the footprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre , stars on the sidewalk and books about its fabled past. As a journalist with the Associated Press, I had the chance to interview stars at the Brown Derby with its big brown hat on the rooftop looming over Hollywood.
Members of the Oy Luck Club Fran Offenhauser, left, Carol Ward, center, and others gather to celebrate two birthdays at Off Vine on March 18, 2023. One of those being feted was Diva Ward, 31, who had first come to an Oy Luck at Off Vine as an infant in the arms of her mother, Carol, who flew in from Wisconsin for the event. Also celebrating was architect Michael Mekeel, a founding member of Oy Luck. The oldest member present was famed actor Alan Oppenheimer, 92.
Carroll discovered Wallace in New York and put her on stage in his famous and somewhat scandalous “Vanities,” which featured elaborate productions with beautiful, scantily clad showgirls. She was his star. The two fell in love and for the next two decades she would be his girlfriend and constant companion. When he left Broadway under a cloud due to increasingly risqué shows, he decided to go west to seek a new venue for his extravagant dreams.
Placards for the members of the Oy Luck Club at what is likely to be the group’s last gathering at their beloved restaurant, Off Vine. But Falzone persisted. He set up an office on the front porch to handle calls from loyal customers and to deal with the city and insurance companies. Two years later, the Craftsman bungalow, looking the same as ever, reopened. It took $750,000 to save it.
Then L.A. City Council president and future mayor Eric Garcetti said, “This Hollywood gem adds to the continued revitalization of our community.” Loyal customers, including the Oy Luck Club gang, returned in droves. The rebirth of the Pantages Theatre as a venue for Broadway road shows brought audience members there for pre-theater meals.
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