Lucy’s El Adobe Celebrates 50 Years – Gives to Meals on Wheels

Lucy’s El Adobe,  Hancock Park’s original Mexican cafe on Melrose,  is marking its 5oth anniversary this year with margaritas and enchiladas – and a benefit for St. Vincent’s Meals on Wheels..  “We have a lot in common, since we’ve both always been dedicated to feeding Angelenos with love,” Lucy said of the Meals on Wheels program that delivers some 4,000 meals daily to home-bound seniors, the terminally ill, and disabled.

Lucy Casado founded the restaurant with her late husband Frank in 1964. She and her daughter Patricia still operate the dark-windowed establishment across the street from the Paramount Studios gates, which has been updated since its early days with a large enclosed patio. The history of Lucy’s is star-studded, as shared in a recent press release from Lucy’s and St Vincents:

As with a number of storied Hollywood eateries such as Chasen’s, Jimmy’s or the Brown Derby, Lucy’s history has a rich vein of political and celebrity lore, owing to “Frank’s love of politics, and my love of music and the arts,” explains Lucy. Veteran L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez noted that “Eating at Lucy’s and getting her blessing is practically a rite of passage in L.A. politics,” as evidenced by the roll call of public servants who’ve dined there: President Bill Clinton, Senator Bobby Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy, President Ronald Reagan, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mayor Richard Riordan, Mayor Jim Hahn and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

News clippings and photos adorning the entry wall also bear testimony to Lucy’s association with another of the Golden State’s native sons: current Governor Jerry Brown, who commandeered the eatery as his unofficial campaign headquarters back in the 1970s.  It was at Lucy’s that he first met singer Linda Rondstadt, who, along with regulars such as Jackson Browne, the Eagles, Phil Collins, Dolly Parton, songwriter Jimmy Webb, and Lyle Lovett, established the homey café as a music industry haunt.

Film and television stars are no strangers to Lucy’s either: fans include Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jack Nicholson, Drew Barrymore, Neil Patrick Harris, Diane Keaton, Winona Ryder, Kevin Costner, Warren Beatty, Tom Selleck, Lily Tomlin, and Henry Winkler, not to mention iconic figures of social activism such as Cesar Chavez and the Dalai Lama, and sports legend and entrepreneur Magic Johnson.

The St Vincents Meals on Wheels program makes and distributes the hot meals from a kitchen in downtown Los Angeles. The fundraiser on February 11th will feature a buffet dinner of Lucy’s specialties, with 100% of the evening’s proceeds donated to St Vincents Meals on Wheels.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate Lucy’s 50th Anniversary and feel truly blessed by the generosity of Lucy and her family, who have been such loyal friends to St. Vincent Meals on Wheels. May Lucy’s be blessed with at least another 50 great years!” commented Sr. Alice Marie Quinn, DC, who founded St. Vincent Meals on Wheels nearly 38 years ago, and who, like Lucy, still runs the daily operation.

No word if they buffet will be offering the Jerry Brown Special, the only dish on the menu named after a celebrity. Purchase tickets to the fundraiser ($100 per person) at  STVMOW website.