Café la Maze: Hollywood History in National City

Commentary When you think of restaurants with a Hollywood background, what comes to mind? The Brown Derby, Romanoff’s, and the Coco Palms were all favorite haunts of the movie crowd during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Sadly, all three, and countless other classic Los Angeles eating establishments, have closed, making the way for more modern restaurants. We associate the glamorous movie industry with the Los Angeles area, but it’s easy to forget that the Hollywood crowd left footprints far beyond the shadow of the Hollywood sign. Actors, directors, screenwriters, and producers fled from the pressures of Tinseltown by escaping in every direction when they had some free time. As a result, there are little pockets of forgotten yet fascinating Hollywood history throughout Southern California....