Andre's Restaurant, which I wrote about here, is a small Italian cafeteria in the Town and County Shopping Center, located at the corner of 3rd Street and Fairfax. That puts it directly opposite the world-famous Farmers Market.
Andre's has been there since around 1963 and I have memories of my parents taking me there not long after it opened. I still go there often (or send my assistant over for take-out) and the reason I haven't mentioned it here until recently is that it usually has a line out the door and nothing personal but I don't need to have you ahead of me in that line.
They offer inexpensive Italian fare that is always fresh because they sell so much of it during the day. The plate you see above is the large spaghetti which comes with your choice of sauce (meat, marinara or mushroom) and a hunk of garlic bread, all for $10.50. The meatball is another buck. I usually get it "to go" with three meatballs then carve it up into three portions so I get three meals for four and half bucks each. They're each plenty large and very good. The small spaghetti, which is about half that size and fine for one person is $7.00.
The place is friendly and busy and most of the staff's been there long enough that they can recognize us regulars and start prepping our meals before we order them. I love it and so do the folks who come from miles around to dine there. When Andre's first opened, it was in a courtyard full of other cheap eateries. My sense was that the only reason anyone ever went to the other ones was because the line for Andre's was just too long. Still, one by one they all closed — and in some cases, walls were then removed and Andre's expanded into their spaces.
But recently, we heard that Andre's might be going away. As I wrote in the earlier piece, the folks who run that shopping center have big expansion plans. They involve erecting a massive building, variously described as between 19 and 26 floors, to create space for new retailers and for 380 housing units. For a long time, the obstacle to their dreams has been the long-term lease of a pretty pathetic Kmart which has anchored the eastern side of the shopping center for years.
Actually, most Kmarts these days are pretty pathetic, as are the lingering vestiges of their sister chain, Sears. In 2008, Sears/Kmart CEO Eddie Lampert announced he was restructuring the company to apply the principles of his idol, Ayn Rand, and that the wild success that would result. This, he said, would prove to the world that her philosophy should not only rule the business world but the real one, as well.
It is probably unfair to Ms. Rand to blame her for what has happened. After all, she never provided detailed instructions on how to run budget department stores in the era of Amazon — though she doubtlessly would have gotten much of the credit had Mr. Lampert's plans succeeded. They did not and his Randian approach has been an utter disaster. It's hard to imagine how you could do more damage to the American institution that is Sears unless maybe you went around and set them all on fire.
Every month now, a few dozen more Sears and Kmart outlets go outta business. (Here's the list of the ones going bye-bye in September.) The Kmart in the mall that also houses Andre's has probably only lasted this long because it's been on a lease…but that lease expires this December and we're now hearing it will not be renewed. The building would then be razed and the shopping center expansion could commence.
Unfortunately, Andre's lease expires at the same time, the difference of course being that Andre's is a successful, thriving business that many would miss. In the earlier posting, I was pessimistic about its future. I'm a fraction more optimistic after last night…but only a fraction.
Last night, I attended a meeting of the Mid City West Community Council, which has some sort of supervisory role on development in the area. Interested parties are invited to address the board for three-minute speeches on matters that matter to them. I decided to go in and speak against allowing the redevelopment and for finding some way to keep Andre's open for business there. I was one of many speakers and most were better-prepared than I was…which was not a shock since having never done anything like this before, I wasn't prepared at all.
The principal of an elementary school that's adjacent to the real estate in question delivered a long PowerPoint presentation on the problems that the expansion would create for her and the students. Her argument alone seemed like a slam-dunk reason not to allow the developers to proceed. Another gent spoke with far more facts than I possess about what the increase in traffic will do to the area. But I, speaking about how Andre's is unique and beloved, got a few laughs and some applause and back-pats.
The biggest laugh came when I stated that I have no financial interest in Andre's but that given how much money I've spent there in the last 40+ years, I should be co-owner by now. And I think I scored some points when I talked about how sad it is that privately-owned, non-franchise restaurants keep being displaced by Burger Kings and Wendy's. My time ran out before I got to use my line about how one Andre's is worth a thousand Sbarro's and added, "I prefer my pizza be fresh, made with care and, most of all, edible."
Will the new development be stopped? The consensus I got from those who attended the meeting to argue against it was that it will almost certainly be scaled back. They all assumed what I've assumed; that the full proposal, which is a monstrosity, is not what the developers even want. It's a deliberate overreach: You say you're doing 26 stories so the commission can scale it back and you can settle for the 12 or 15 stories you really plan. But no one seemed confident that a downsized blueprint would still not create massive problems or have a place for Andre's.
I started my little speech by saying, "I read online that I could come here and state what I'd like the new Town and Country Shopping Center to be like. I'd like it to be exactly like the old Town and Country Shopping Center but with better parking and regardless of what happens, someone's got to do something about the dreadful traffic that we already have at that intersection." I doubt that there won't be a new Town and Country Shopping Center there. I just pray it won't be anywhere near the size of the proposed Godzilla, stepping on and crushing a lot of things that deserve to remain. Maybe it could be more like Godzilla's little, harmless friend Godzooky. And maybe we can take Godzooky down and feed him the great lasagna they serve at Andre's.
If that doesn't happen…hey, it was worth a shot. I'm glad I took the time.