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Beloved Retro Diner Swingers Will Reopen
(Swingers diner at night. November 5, 2011. <A HREF="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisyarzab/6314711724/">Chris Yarzab/Flickr Creative Commons</A>)
Amid all the restaurant closures, a bit of good news: Swinger's Diner, which closed back in April during the early days of the pandemic, will reopen — possibly as soon as November 1.
The retro diner's savior and new owner is Stephanie Wilson who has worked there since 2011, most recently as its general manager, according to Eater LA.
Eater LA reports, "When news of the closure first got out, Wilson sprung into action, collecting enough funds from regulars (including some unnamed, high-profile types) and her own friends and family to purchase the business."
Located on Bverly Boulevard, Swingers was previously run by Committed, Inc., a restaurant group owned by Sean MacPherson, a Malibu-bred hospitality impresario who was involved with several successful Los Angeles bars — Jones, Swingers, El Carmen, Bar Lubitsch and the Good Luck Bar — before decamping to New York.
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The neon sign for Swingers. January 13, 2010. (donielle/Flickr Creative Commons)
With its red vinyl booths, blaring music, menu of amped up American diner fare and late hours, Swingers was a popular spot in the Fairfax District. But it's hardly the only vintage or vintage-themed diner around.
Southern California was once littered with old-school diners. As Virginia Yapp writes, "Back then, they weren't old-school. They just were. Built at the height of car culture, designed with Space Age flourishes to symbolize the progress of a new era."
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