Alshammari 1

Sabika Alshammari
English113B
Professor Lawson
May 11th ,2016
The Pacific Dining Car
The importance of space is clear in American culture since no one likes to be too close to
each other and being too far is also problematic. Places and spaces are created for amusement,
for management, commercial spaces, mostly have a significant importance, and depict the
culture and heritage of that particular place. Culture plays an important role in demonstrating
ones uniqueness, and often connects to history and to other values. Understanding a culture can
tell one a lot that might not be clear from a superficial point-of-view. Every place has a story to
tell, and often this story has to do with hardships and triumphs that it took to build and sustain
the place and the reason why it is thriving business for generations to come. Every aspect holds
great significance that must be taken into account.
The Pacific Dining Car is one such space that caught my attention in this beautiful city of
California. This place has been thriving since the 1890s and serves amazing food, causing the
little restaurant to become one of the most sought after places in the area. This little restaurant is
unique given its history, the food and the fact that it is not the standard four-walled restaurant.
The Pacific Dining Car was born in a railroad train parked on rented lot in downtown Los
Angeles. The owners, Grace and Fred, started this lovely restaurant in 1921 when they were still
a very young couple. As I learning about this place, I got to know that Fred and Grace left the
East Coast and moved Southern California after Fred realized his dream of becoming an opera
singer was just too hard to reach since he did not really have a great voice. Before departing for

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Southern California, Fred and Grace ate at a restaurant which was a model of a railway car; this
inspired them to start a restaurant of their own which later took shape on 7th St and Westlake
where the couple built their own restaurant dining car. They made the car more spacious and a
little larger than the authentic one, so the dining experience would not as confined and more
enjoyable.
From the start, business was great. People enjoyed Freds sure hand and Graces pies
which no one could duplicate. She made the most unbelievable pies said Virginia, who also
added that It is sad that it isnt a hereditary feature she got from her mother It was an art form,
which escaped her. Because of real estate prices, the couple was forced to move their restaurant
to 6th and Wilmer where it is today. The little restaurant soon became one of the most popular
dining spots in the area. Its menu featured good, affordable fare for its time. Seven days a week,
long before the 4 pm opening, savoury aromas floated from the kitchen. Vegetable soup was also
prepared in this kitchen as was a tangy steak sauce, pies flaky crusts and apple filling which
became a delight for the customers to eat.
Four years after its move, a rancher taught Fred how to prepare meat so Fred began
cooking the best steaks which went well with customers and eventually became a restaurant
staple. Business was booming for the Pacific Dining Car in the 1920s, but like most businesses
times got tough for the Dining Car during the Great Depression. Yet the Cooks still offered a
kind hand, and people came to the restaurant asking for food. Grace would tell them to come
back after dark to sit and eat with their co-workers. At the end of the day, anything left over
would be taken to the nearby mission. In 1947, Fred Cook passed away, leaving Grace in-charge
of the car up until her 8os when she was no longer able to run the business anymore and then
passed it to her daughter, Virginia.

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After Virginias death, her husband and son, Wes and Wes Jr, remodelled the restaurant to
include air-conditioning, new carpets and new furniture. After his travels to a few European
countries, Wes Jr. introduced wine to the Dining Cars menu. Currently Wes III owns the place.
He has tried to create a quiet ambience in the dining cars, letting social interaction flourish so
that diners feel comfortable when they are eating. Theres no music pumping throughout the
restaurant. When you enter, a doorbell rings like youre about to enter a persons home. The
Pacific Dining Car welcomes a variety of customers and is one of the most hospitable restaurants
that I have seen.
Hot, muggy days in Los Angeles offered a little opportunity for relief in the 1920s, and
dining out of a closed out at a closed-in restaurant was not the most popular event for people,
causing the Pacific Dining Car to seven times a day, but only for nine months of the year. During
the hottest weather, the closed sign went up, and everyone went on a three-month vacation.
The language on the sign was very bold and made newspapers in Chicago and New York
trumpeted: Too D. hot in L.A. gone fishing. Why the H. dont you go, too? This restaurant
thrived from the 1890s, not only serving good food, but also helping people in need during times
of difficulty.