Industry Fast food restaurants Type of business Private | Website originaltommys.com | |
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Key people Thomas James "Tommy" Koulax, Founder (1918-1992) Products hamburgers, hot dogs, tamales, chili, french fries, soft drinks Headquarters Monrovia, California, United States Founded 1946, Los Angeles, California, United States Number of locations 34 (31 California, 3 Nevada) Profiles | ||
Original Tommy's is a hamburger restaurant chain in Southern California, United States. It is known for its chili burgers.
Contents
History
The original location was opened on May 15, 1946, by Tom Koulax (October 26, 1918 - May 28, 1992), the son of Greek immigrants, on the northeast corner of Beverly and Rampart boulevards west of downtown Los Angeles. The stand, which still stands today, sold hamburgers and hot dogs topped with chili. At first business was slow, but started to pick up. During the 1960s, the entire lot at this intersection was purchased. Soon after, the northwest corner was acquired for expanded parking and storage of goods. Not long after that, a second service counter occupying the building at the perimeter of the northeast lot was set up. The food was essentially the same from both locations, except for longer lines at the original shack counter, perhaps for nostalgic reasons.
Tommy's grew to 30 locations by 2006. Most Original Tommy's restaurants are found in the Greater Los Angeles Area. In recent years several locations have closed. The Santa Monica location was closed on April 20, 2014 when the landlord refused to renew the lease and leased the location to Starbucks instead.
In 2008, the company expanded for the first time outside of California by opening two locations in Clark County, Nevada. A third Nevada location was opened in 2013.
The company is based in Monrovia, California, after years at Glendale, California, and is run by the late Mr. Koulax's family.
Chili
A ladle or two of Koulax's signature chili tops nearly every available menu item, even the breakfast sandwich. Original Tommy's chili is a mixture of an all-beef chili con carne base, flour, water, and a "secret" blend of spices, and resembles a condiment more than a conventional bowl of chili. The flour-water mixture allows the chili to "set up" and adhere to the burger or fries. All the chili is made to exact specifications and is the same in each location.