Irv’s Burgers stand returns on Route 66 in West Hollywood

It took four years, but the Irv’s Burgers stand and its longtime operator, Sonia Hong, have returned just one door from its previous location along Route 66 in West Hollywood, California.

The Hong family, which had owned the historic restaurant since 2000, left its longstanding landmark location in 2013 due to a landlord dispute.

LA Eater reported:

The Hongs moved east to a storefront for a while, but struggled to capture the charm and consistent customer base of the previous address. It was only at closing, in 2018, that Los Angeles collectively realized what had been so tenuous for so long. A single wrenching image remains from that final day of service of an exhausted Mama Hong, head down, having closed the place for good.

In another time and place, that might have been it for Sonia and Mama Hong: Retirement, however necessary, and the slow dissolution of an American burger dream. Except Sonia Hong is something of a local celebrity in West Hollywood — all those smiles and doodles have added up to a new opportunity one door down from the last location of Irv’s, and a new chance to make people happy. Just standing in front of her new restaurant at 7998 Santa Monica Boulevard, brought to market by longtime restaurant broker Jay Luchs, she is besieged with questions about her return, and hugs from locals who are happy to see her donning the red and blue logo again.

The new construction comes with a remake of the original walk-up window, stools and off-white tile and all. There is communal seating inside a glassy side room, but mostly this is the same simple setup as ever, with Hong at the window several days a week. She’s far from retired, but will lean on partner Lawrence Longo of Off the Menu to fill out the kitchen roster and hire up on days when she’s at home, taking care of Mama Hong (who herself worked at Irv’s with Sonia until she was 83).

LA Eater reports the menu is a blend of new and old entries, including the original Irv’s Burger. The operation of the restaurant still is being tweaked, but its expected hours later this month will be from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and from 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

The original Irv’s Burgers stand at 8289 Santa Monica Blvd. became a cafe for the Conservatory restaurant complex. The Hongs moved their restaurant to a storefront at 7998 Santa Monica Blvd. in 2014 after being evicted the previous year.

Irv’s originally was a Queen’s Burgers stand that started in 1946 and changed its name a few years later.

(Image of the new Irv’s Burgers location in West Hollywood, California, via Facebook)