I was flying out to Southern California last year and I had a short layover (with a long walk between gates) at Denver International Airport. As I was flying between the Quad Cities and Denver a buddy of mine from the Denver area had left me a voice mail because a company who had been interested in hiring me contacted him after I told them to give my friend a call as I was happy with my current position. (Where were these calls when I was looking for work a couple years ago?) He just wanted to know if this was a legitimate deal and I apologized and said that I probably should have let him know they were going to call him. He asked me where I was and I told him that, quite actually, I was out at DIA heading to Orange County. "Oh, man," he said in almost a jealous tone. "You've got to go to Tommy's when you're out there." I wasn't familiar with Tommy's and he said, "Oh, man. Their chili cheese dogs, their chili cheeseburger, they're the best, man." It turned out that after calling on a potential account in Orange County I passed a Tommy's. I ended up going around the block and headed back to the Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers in Fountain Valley, CA. (see map)
Tom Koufax was the son of Greek immigrants who ended up in Southern California before the outbreak of World War II. Koufax dabbled in a number of businesses before he saw a number of hot dog places were popping up around Southern California after the war. Hoping the cash in the post-war prosperity, he opened Tommy's Hamburgers at the corner of W. Beverly and N. Rampart Blvds. just west of downtown Los Angeles. Business was slow at first for the little walk-up stand relying mainly on "word-of-mouth" advertising. By the mid-50's, Tommy's had garnered enough of a buzz that long lines began to form before they would open for their chili dogs, chili cheese fries and chili-topped burgers.
Pictured right - the "original" Original Tommy's Hamburgers stand in Los Angeles. Photo courtesy Historic Places L.A.
By the 60's, Tommy's had outgrown its original location and Tom Koufax bought the entire northeast corner of Beverly and Rampart to put in a food storage facility as well as a second serving window. But it became evident to Koufax that he needed to expand his business as Los Angeles was quickly becoming a megapolis with thousands of people moving into the San Fernando Valley on an annual basis.
In 1971 while celebrating 25 years in business, Tom Koufax opened his second location in the North Hills neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. A year later, a third Tommy's Hamburgers opened in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of north Los Angeles between Pasadena and Glendale. Expansion continued the next year as the fourth Tommy's opened in Burbank, and in 1974, the fifth Tommy's opened in Tujunga, CA on the far northeast side of the San Fernando Valley. Today, there are 32 Tommy's locations with 29 spread across Southern California and 3 more in Las Vegas.
Pictured left - Tom Koufax, Sr. (left) and an employee at the original Tommy's location. Photo courtesy Original Tommy's web site.
Tommy's success spawned a number of imitators and it became evident that the company needed to trademark and copyright their name and product. In the 80's, Tommy's Hamburgers became known as the Original Tommy's Hamburgers with the tag "World Famous" as they were getting press and visitors from publications around the world as being the quintessential Southern California fast food restaurant. Tour groups from Asia and Europe would go to an Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers just to experience the food and atmosphere.
In the 1960's, Tom Koufax, Jr. joined his father at the original location working the grills and learning the business. Tom Koufax, Jr. eventually walked away from the business and had no affiliation with Tommy's Hamburgers later on. Upon Tom Koufax, Sr.'s death in 1992, the business was split among family members with Tom Koufax, Jr. retaining 10% of the restaurant. Dawna Bernal, the daughter of Tom Jr's sister Dianne, was installed as C.E.O. of the Original Tommy's. Tom Koufax's son-in-law is the chief financial officer and Koufax family members are on the board of directors for the Original Tommy's Hamburgers.
However, Tom Koufax, Jr. decided to market his own chili that was a similar - yet different - chili recipe as the Original Tommy's chili. He used a logo similar to the Original Tommy's for his chili - Tommy Jr.'s Original Chili - and started selling the product on-line in 2008. He was sent a "cease-and-desist" letter at the end of 2008, and when he continued to sell his chili on-line he was hit with a trademark infringement lawsuit in 2009. Tom, Jr. eventually moved his operation to Las Vegas where he, his wife and a business partner continued to sell his chili on-line and fought the lawsuit - all while Tom, Jr. was undergoing cancer treatment. The suit was soon settled after Tom Koufax, Jr. agreed to stop using the name Tommy Jr.'s Original Chili.
Over the years, more Tommy's knock-offs have appeared across Southern California. The Koufax family began legal proceedings against many of those Tommy's wanna-be's that had similar concepts and similar names to Tommy's - Tomy's Hamburgers, Tommy's No. 5 Chiliburgers, Tommy's Famous Drive-thru, Tomboy's Famous Chili Hamburgers and Tom's Original Super Burger. By 2019, there were nearly 70 different Tommy's knock-offs around Southern California - 3 times the number of Original Tommy's World Famous Hamburgers locations. But the Koufax family was through with trying to litigate against the imposters taking the stance that the most sincere form of flattery is imitation. They've focused on strengthening the Original Tommy's image, logo and message to differentiate themselves from the others who have popped up on the coattails of the Original Tommy's success.
It turns out that the Fountain Valley location was the sixth Original Tommy's restaurant to open. This location opened in 1980 and was a counter-service only with a drive-thru lane. However, they've since added seating in form of 9 booths in a small dining area. Old photos of Tommy's original restaurant hung on the walls of the dining area.
It was around 1:30 when I got into the Original Tommy's and I parked in the lot outside the building just off Magnolia Street just north of the corner it shares with Warner Ave. I went inside and went to the counter. Since no one else was in line, I was able to take my time looking at the menu on a wall board behind the counter. But compared to a number of other fast food/fast casual places, Tommy's didn't have much to offer other than chili cheese burgers, chili cheese dogs, chili cheese tamales, chili cheese fries and a breakfast burrito.
I figured I'd get a chili dog because I love good chili dogs. But I was sort of up in the air as to what else I was going to get. I'm sure that it would be way too much food, but I figured that I could get a couple things and not eat everything in front of me.
I normally don't like chili cheese burgers and I almost got the chili cheese tamale along with a chili cheese dog. But against my better judgment I went with the chili cheese burger - just one patty. (They also have double and triple chili cheese burgers at the Original Tommy's.) Besides, Tommy's chili cheese burgers are "world famous". I had to at least give one a try while I was there.
The chili cheese dog was topped with onions, dill pickles, and a sliced tomato. I had to get back up and grab multiple napkins and a plastic fork and knife to dig into the chili cheese dog as it was a complete mess. The chili cheese burger has similar toppings on it. Why it did, I don't quite know as dill pickles and chili aren't in my book of combinations.
The chili was the overriding feature of both the chili cheese dog and the chili cheese burger. In fact, I couldn't taste any of the hot dog or the burger patty when I bit into each. The chili was, well, interesting. It was a Greek-style chili - similar to Cincinnati-style chili - but more thick and somewhat pasty in consistency. It was definitely an acquired taste and I'm not certain I really liked it. I ate all of the chili cheese dog and maybe about half of the burger.
And, of course, the chili laid in my stomach like a gut bomb. I was planning on going out that evening for some Italian food at a restaurant not far from my hotel, but it turned out that I just stayed in that night and didn't have dinner. Tommy's chili was just too much for me.
I talked to my buddy who turned me on to Tommy's about a month after I had been there. I told him, "Man, I don't know about Tommy's. That was a gut bomb, big time."
He was sort of crestfallen to hear my critique of the place. "Oh, man," he said dejectedly over the phone. "I figured a guy like you would like Tommy's. Man, I have to go to Tommy's every time I go to Southern California."
Well, all I can say is that I gave it a shot. And I didn't care for it. But there are thousands of people in Southern California who love Tommy's chili cheese dogs and chili cheese burgers and the Original Tommy's longevity and growth attest to that. The chili laid heavy in my stomach, I didn't care for the consistency of the chili, and I found the taste to be somewhat dull. I found Tommy's. I tried Tommy's. And the Original Tommy's is definitely an acquired taste.
Comments