It’s snowing outside, a perfect day to look through my collection of restaurant images. This is one of my best photos and I’ve always wondered about the place’s history.
The man in the foreground is almost certainly Mr. Hart. He proudly stands next to his new car, a 1940 Hudson, while his employees — possibly his wife and son — smile in the background.
The restaurant’s history turned out to be difficult to research, but I did learn that both restaurants were in Los Angeles, and that No. 2 was at 203 W. Manchester Blvd. and No. 1 was on S. Vermont.
Neither location seemed to to be around for long. Already by January of 1941, Chicken House No. 1 was advertising for someone who would take a half interest in the business. Perhaps the entire restaurant sold quickly, because in May of 1941 it had a new address and was advertising “dancing & cocktails.” The October 1941 advertisement shown after the photo gives little hint that No. 1 had gone to auction already and that No. 2 had been offered for sale in April of 1941.
The for sale advertisement for No. 2 that was run in April claimed rather surprisingly that the restaurant seated 90 people and had a banquet room plus living quarters. The advertisement said it was being sold because the owner was ill.
But I discovered — with the help of followers of the El Segundo Facebook group, in particular Mark Shoemaker — that the Hart father and son continued to operate a third Chicken House into the 1950s. it was located at 615 Sepulveda Blvd., where the family lived together. Note that by the time the matchbook shown here in part was produced the price had tripled.
It’s unclear how long the Sepulveda Blvd. restaurant continued in business.
© Jan Whitaker, 2026
It's great to hear from readers and I take time to answer queries. I can't always find what you are looking for, but I do appreciate getting thank yous no matter what the outcome.
Restaurant-ing through history 
It is a great picture. I’d love to see others!