In the 1920s and 1930s, the Broadway Theater District in Downtown Los Angeles was filled with theaters, movie palaces and retail stores. The former Los Angeles Yellow Car ran along Broadway bringing people to and fro. Broadway was the commercial capital of the nation. And in the heart of Broadway, and among the bustling crowds on the street, Clifton’s Cafeteria opened.

 The Original Clifton’s Cafeteria

The first Clifton’s Cafeteria opened in 1931, amidst the Great Depression. Founded by Clifford Clinton, the name Clifton’s was created by combining his name. The location on Broadway, which opened in 1935 and was initially called “Clifton’s Brookdale,” was the second Clifton’s facility. While once part of a chain of eight Clifton’s restaurants, Clifton’s Cafeteria at 648 S. Broadway is noted as the oldest cafeteria in Los Angeles and the largest public cafeteria in the world. With over 600 seats on three floors, the space is 50,000 square feet.

Each of the Clifton’s restaurants was known for having its own theme. The Clifton’s Cafeteria on Broadway was named and modeled after the Brookdale Lodge in the Santa Cruz Mountains that Clifford Clinton had spent time at as a child. The original location had a twenty-foot waterfall, a quiet stream that ran through the dining room, faux redwood trees, a stuffed moose head, animated raccoon, a fishing bear and a life-size forest on canvas covering one wall. The restaurant was like entering a scene from a Disney story.

Anyone who was anyone ate at Clifton’s. It is said that Jack Kerouac ate a meal at Clifton’s during a cross-country visit that formed the basis for his book “On The Road.” Clifton’s is where the birth of modern science fiction took place. It was the original meeting place for the Los Angeles Science Fiction League, founded in 1934. There are tables on the second floor where the likes of Ray Bradbury, L. Ron Hubbard and others would meet on a weekly basis.

Clifton’s was also known for embodying “Clifton’s Golden Rule.” Clifford Clinton had a strong Christian ethos and set a precedent in which no one was turned away hungry. Whether you paid or not, you could get a meal at Clifton’s. As they opened during the Great Depression, it is said that during one 90-day period, 10,000 people ate for free at Clifton’s.

Clifton’s Cafeteria was in operation for 74 years, serving up to 2000 people a day through 2009. In September 2010, nightclub operator and developer Andrew Meieran purchased Clifton’s and the cafeteria closed in 2011 for remodeling.

Clifton’s Cafeteria Today

Beginning in 2013 and led by Los Angeles City Council Member José Huizar, the ten-year Bringing Back Broadway plan was initiated. Clifton’s Cafeteria reopened in 2015 as many of the historic vacant theaters are being reactivated and other economic development is being directed to Broadway.

The Clifton’s Cafeteria of today pays homage in many ways to the original Clifton’s while modernizing it for today. The original 1904 building façade is now visible after removing an aluminum façade that was placed in 1963. The sign now says “Clifton’s Cabinet of Curiosities,” and that it is.

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