RIP: Wah's Golden Hen And 101 Coffee Shop

2020 couldn't bid farewell without another couple kicks in our collective teeth.

While the closing of the 101 Coffee Shop in Hollywood, a retro diner that stayed open late into the night, has seen many high-profile fans mourning its departure, the closure of Wah's Golden Hen in Virgil Village makes us just as sad.

This utterly unfussy Chinese American restaurant, which opened in 1972, rarely ended up on "best of" lists, but its salt-and- pepper prawns and fried rice were hard to beat. After 48 years in business, it was still family-owned and still cash only.
In late December, owners Wai and Lena Louie posted a note on the window announcing Wah's would close after December 31. The note, which thanked patrons for their support over the decades, read, in part:

Located on Virgil Avenue just north of Melrose Avenue, Wah's stayed the same even as the neighborhood around it gentrified with wine shops, boutiques, condos and fancier restaurants (including Sqirl) replacing furniture stores, markets, panaderías and neighborhood bars (like the Smog Cutter). Up until Wah's closed on New Year's Eve, you could still go there and get classic Chinese American dishes such as egg foo yung and a whole fried fish.

Approximately three miles northwest, the 101 Coffee Shop on Franklin Avenue, decided to shut its doors for good. It's not clear when it happened, but owner Warner Ebbink told Eater LA, "Because of the ongoing pandemic, the temporary closure of the 101 Coffee Shop has become permanent."

Ebbink and chef Brandon Boudet opened the restaurant, located inside a Best Western at the base of the Hollywood Hills, in 2001. A little history, courtesy of Virginia Yapp:

When Ebbink and Brandon Boudet, both of whom had worked at Swingers on Beverly Boulevard, took over, they updated the space to its current retro-meets-modern perfection. The menu featured comfort food staples such as burgers, milkshakes (the Purple Haze was a favorite), buttermilk waffles and mac and cheese.

Ebbink and Boudet went on to launch Little Dom's in Los Feliz and this summer opened LD Seafood in Carpinteria. But apparently, the pandemic was too much for the 101.

There's a GoFundMe campaign to help out former 101 employees.