FEATURE

Culinary expert, Barbara Trémie (known as 'Bunny'), was something of a socialite and had connections in the world of entertainment and local politics. In the late 1940s she became a partner in her family's extensive wholesale food enterprise after the death of her father. She found day-to-day office life socially restricting and not exactly exciting. She wanted a more active and social environment to work from.

Bunny decided to buy a diner and use it as a combined office base and social venue, and as a place where she had access to a fully equipped kitchen to keep her first love, cooking and cuisine, close to hand.

She approached friend and advertising executive Freddy Jackson about the project. Freddy loved the idea of a diner as a public relations tool rather than just a business in itself, and the building under consideration in West Hollywood offered great possibilities. As a result, he became a co-owner.

The diner was launched under the name 'Millie's', inspired by a few tenuous similarities with the diner related movie Mildred Pierce released in 1945, starring Joan Crawford. The name was thought to convey a friendly, homely feel, and the movie reference gave a touch of showbiz.

There were two sides to the business - the public drive-in diner was managed by a team provided by the owner of a well-known restaurant chain, who was one of Freddy's clients. The second side was a private luncheon club, which was Bunny and Freddy's domain.

Freddy managed front of house and organized exclusive, member-only sittings in a suite of separate air-conditioned rooms at the rear of the building, previously used as dance studios and accessed by a private courtyard. Bunny's office was situated next to a reception area which was converted into a luxurious lounge and cigar bar.

The spacious and windowless studio, with its partly mirrored walls, sprung flooring, and a small low-level stage at one end, became the luncheon club's dining area, furnished with tables that could be moved to make a dance floor, and newly fitted diner-style booths.

These times also coincided with the popularity of the jukebox, which offered a new and shared musical experience. A brand-new Wurlitzer Jukebox was installed next to the stage along with a matching external speaker system. The old dance piano was replaced with a top-of-the-range Baldwin piano once owned by Bunny's father, and the scene was set.

Privacy, great hosts and a fantastic menu meant the luncheon club quickly became a popular retreat for the rich and famous, particularly those within Bunny's vast social circle.

Thanks to Freddy's relationship with the local media and the importance of his clients' advertising dollars, the press left the place alone. Well-known faces and local celebrities could come and go as they pleased, and relax and indulge themselves without intrusion from the press or public.

At lunchtime, Freddy's VIP patrons could gorge on luxury burgers or other special diner menu items (dishes created by Bunny and prepared by trainee gourmet chefs), then stay and relax for the rest of the afternoon while drinking, smoking, and chatting in the private high-backed booths. A deep red theme, plush upholstery, and low lighting in the windowless dining area gave a cosy night-time feel even during the day, and members could get some elusive time with friends or discreet alone time. They could also just drop in and socialize in the cool air-conditioned cigar bar with the likes of studio managers, agents, music producers, celebrities, and rising stars.

The patrons of the luncheon club had a similar attitude to that of the teenagers in the public diner. It wasn't home, and it wasn't the office. It was a place to relax or do business, an escape from humdrum family life, and a place to network with peers. It was also a retreat for secret affairs with food, alcohol, or other people.

Eccentric habits, strong views, or exuberant behaviour were accepted as a part of club culture and made things interesting, but Bunny made it known that any form of open discrimination would not be tolerated. This was the only aspect where a clear line was drawn - a tough stance considering the nature of some of the deeply offensive social protocols that were generally accepted at the time.

Because of the nature of the luncheon club and its high-profile clientele, the waiting staff were taken on by recommendation only and consisted of showgirls, athletes, actors, musicians, and performers who wanted to make a little extra cash between jobs, or were friends or relatives of the patrons. This meant there was a pool of professional entertainers on-hand, and Freddy cooked-up a novel idea to make the most of this.

Freddy would assume the role of compère on the tiny stage located next to the jukebox, and the activation of a single spotlight and glittering mirror ball would indicate that it was showtime. Service staff were given an opportunity to perform for the diners, albeit in a subtle and fairly low-key way (usually singers and pianists or small groups of dancers and musicians). Things snowballed, and the result was the popular and now legendary entertainment sessions that occurred at intervals during the afternoons, with the patrons themselves sometimes taking a turn.

Later, Freddy extended proceedings into the evening with private showcases of cabaret acts (some rumoured to be little outrageous or risqué at the time) that were under the wings of some of the patrons, along with a variety of musical duos, solo performers, and comedians who were in the development stage of their careers, or were testing out new songs or routines.

Many of the diner's former staff have praised Bunny and Freddy over the years for giving them an opportunity, and report that working at the diner was an unforgettable experience. Some have since gone on to great things.

Music became a central theme in the local area and at the diner, and the jukebox played a crucial role in the musical transition from the fifties to the sixties. The luncheon club's jukebox was free and played all the time. Record company pluggers provided a constant supply of new releases, and even the stars themselves provided exclusive releases and previews of unreleased music, or pushed other artists they championed. Radio station owners and DJs kept a keen ear on what the jukebox offered and often gave new artists valuable airtime after hearing the latest releases at Millie's Diner.

This on-going social extravaganza finally came to an end in the mid sixties. Freddy sold his financial stake in the business and went into television production. Shortly after Freddy left, Bunny's family wholesale business was merged with a major distributor and involved a move to New Jersey, which led to the sale of the diner. She subsequently went into the lucrative 'heat and serve' ready-meals market with her brother Hector.

Without Bunny's connections and Freddy's protection from press intrusion, the diner became less exclusive, and the new owners eventually converted the luncheon club into a small public venue featuring cabaret and burlesque shows. The public section out front was taken over by a fast food franchise.

The importance of the jukebox also went into decline as recordings, music players and radio development moved with the times and became more affordable and accessible.

A few years later, the venue was sold to a corporate entity and was extensively remodeled and extended. The original building was no longer recognizable, and the diner finally dissolved into history.

Rich Black ★webstar MMXX

This story references the character Mildred Pierce (1945) - a fictional character created by the American author and lover of fine cuisine and music James M. Cain. The outside shot of the diner featured here is a montage of three different diners and adapted artwork that includes a movie still (origin unknown) of a building resembling Dolores Drive-in located on Sunset Boulevard and Horn Avenue, West Hollywood (long-since demolished), which was either built by the studio, or set-dressed on location as Mildred's for the 1945 movie 'Mildred Pierce' released by Warner Bros.

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