German Restaurant's New Digs Formerly Housed Gun Dealer
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
Hidden underneath metal paneling was a brick building slated to house Schmidt's Brauhaus.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — When Eugenia Chung and Klaus Schmidt signed a deal to open german restaurant Schmidt's Brauhaus at Olympic and Olive, they took over a building that didn't look like much of anything.
Only once Discount Tire Center's ugly metal paneling was removed did a simple brick structure emerge. Also revealed were signs for an old tenant, gun dealer Winfield Arms.
In an ad from 1958, Winfield Arms advertised "the West's largest and most unique selection" of rifles, carbines and pistols. The firm had moved to the location at Olympic and Olive within the last few years, after previously being a few blocks away on Pico.
The location didn't last long. An ad that ran on July 5, 1962, said that the company's lease was expiring and advertised a big three day sale.
Fast forward to today, and framing is going on inside the building for the restaurant build-out. A skeleton website for the restaurant says the space will offer a "German dining experience, featuring traditional beer garden-style dining and a restaurant with German 'Gemuetlichkeit'."
Joel C on April 14, 2009, at 11:45PM – #1
"Our opening date has been updated now to the first quarter of 2009."
Ummm...too late.
Martin on April 16, 2009, at 01:26AM – #2
I also should open a restaurant ?
Norbie 7 on April 16, 2009, at 02:13AM – #3
Sitting here reading this while eating taters and sausage at two a.m. and it reminds me of the place out on Beverly, past Alvarado, that Tom Owen and I would go for dinner. Maybe it's still operating: with the walls adorned with all sorts of ancient bric-a-brac, operated by Chileans and the fare was all German. Eisbein was their specialty. The place was empty every time that we dined there and I thought how much of a rage it would have been if the joint had been located in Downtown.