As Writers Strike Eats Into Profits, L.A. Restaurateurs Confront Actor Walkout As Well
Owners of restaurants near studios are ready to pop antacids. Nearly three months into the writers strike with SAG-AFTRA also joining picket lines as of July 14, L.A. hospitality businesses with the greatest customer exposure to the entertainment industry are experiencing economic domino effects and are girding for far worse.
They tell The Hollywood Reporter that, while the impact wasn't immediate after the Writers Guild of America told 11,500 members to hit the picket lines after its contract expired May 1 with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, they're now seeing between 5 and 20 percent declines. The losses are particularly noticeable during lunch service and in dwindling day-of takeout orders for large groups, such as production crews and office staff.
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"There was a lag time before it kicked in," says George Metsos, who owns Toluca Lake diner Patys, a neighborhood stalwart and crossroads for below-the-line workers at Warner Bros., Universal and Disney. "At first there was a buzz, a party atmosphere with people coming in with their [blue WGA] shirts. That's since worn off. Now we're feeling it." He adds: "We're all concerned. There's a lot of people who are sweeping floors, waiting tables and parking cars in this area who are really affected by this."
The addition of the SAG-AFTRA strike — its membership is more than 15 times the size of the WGA — "is worrisome," explains Horacio Weschler, owner of Argentinian spot (and writers room staple) Lala's, whose several outposts include an address in a production-heavy neighborhood along Melrose Avenue as well as one in Studio City, an empanada's toss from the Radford lot. Still, he remains optimistic that "this all gets resolved very soon."
In recent years, local restaurants struggled through city-enforced COVID-19 closures. As the pandemic eased, a marked shift toward remote work has decreased the density of office workers — and potential lunch patrons — they'd relied on.
"The entertainment companies are so remote now; that's already been an impact for restaurants, especially the lunch trade and happy hour," explains Sang Yoon, owner of gastropub Father's Office, whose Culver City location is steps from Apple, Amazon, Sony and HBO Max. (Yoon, who's periodically judged on cooking shows like Top Chef , was about to shop a scripted series with his producing partner before the WGA called its stoppage.) By contrast, at least so far, "the writers strike itself hasn't been super-measurable," says Yoon.
But, worries Akasha Richmond, proprietor of her nearby eponymous Culver City restaurant Akasha, "It's all psychological. People will [further] cut back on dining."
Production shutdowns caused by the strike as well as picketing outside studio gates appear to have decreased the employee density, as well. Noah Holton-Raphael, a partner at popular Paramount-adjacent sandwich spot Ggiata, has seen a substantive dropoff in sales despite writers visiting on their way to and from picketing shifts. (The shop has offered a WGA discount and participated in meal donations to the Paramount picket line early on.) "We'd been doing catering orders for 400 to 600 people every two weeks for Netflix through their restaurant partnership program," he explains. "Now the order is 200 to 250 people every four weeks. So, it's less consistent and less volume since the strike began."
Carlo Mirarchi, the chef and an owner of the New American pizzeria Roberta's, with locations in Culver City and Studio City, notes, "It's been a sad, difficult time" for the community, and while the SAG strike will likely bring further pain, "I'm hoping it'll accelerate everything toward a quicker end." Ggiata's Holton-Raphael sees another potential silver lining: "The deals may mean more money for the writers and the actors, and they'll spend some of it with us."
Updated July 25:This story has been updated to reflect SAG-AFTRA going on strike.
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