Ollie Hammond's Steak House

Before I was born in 1960, my mother worked at the then well-known restaurant Ollie Hammond's Steak House on Wilshire Boulevard. She told me that she helped to open another restaurant. By 1950 there were at least three restaurants, one located in the Beverly Hills area on La Cieneca, the one on Wilshire, and the third at Third and Fairfax. According to a history of the restaurant from one of the menus in the 1950's, Ollie Hammond built his first Steak House during the early part of 1934 (said to be 16 years old at the writing of that history.) The Beverly Hills site opened in June of 1940, and the Town & Country Steak House opened on June 24, 1942. Based on memories of what my mother told me, I am assuming that there may have been yet a fourth restaurant that she helped open in another location, although I have not yet found confirmation for that.

My mother also told me that Mr. Hammond had been involved in an auto accident, probably not long before 1960, and suffered some kind of head injury. He was told to stay home and rest, but didn't follow through as he should have. As a result there were noticeable personality changes, and she found it difficult to work for him after that. Although my mother could not work at the restaurant after 1960, since she was now a single mother, she did continue doing payroll and other work for some time after that. I know that after Ollie Hammond's, and before we moved in the mid-60's she worked for Poor Richard's Restaurant as well, and possibly for Lawry's or Carl's (?).

My mother (seated to the right in the photo, in a navy blue dress suit) initially worked for Ollie Hammonds as a waitress and probably as hostess, but later became a manager of the restaurant, and as I indicated above, possibly helped to open another site. My godfather was also a key member of the business, whose name was Vaughn K. Thompson (pictured on the left side of the photo in the dark suit and tie.) I think that he may have been one of the main chefs and possibly a general manager or co-owner with Mr. Hammond. The pictures I see of him are usually with a chef's hat. He was originally from Utah and was a Mormon by faith. His death may have occurred around 1977. My natural father, William D. Smith, a waiter at Ollie Hammond's, took over my mother's position after my birth. I don't think he is in the photo.

Ollie Hammond's restaurant on La Cienega is said by some to have eventually burned down and I'm not sure about the fate of the other restaurants. Others claim it didn't burn down, but simply disappeared. Mr. Hammond, I read, had served as president of the Santa Monica Rotary Club from 1969 to 1970, but other than that I could not locate any other information on him via the Web. The picture to the right, from my mother's collection, was probably taken sometime in the 1950's. My guess is that he was probably in his 50's at this point. I think that he may have been an engineer by trade, and I seem to remember that she told me the original restaurant was started with money from an inheritance.

There are a few sites on the Web with some recollections regarding Ollie Hammond's, although none that describe Mr. Hammond or other workers of the time. The most informative was at the site called "Chowhound." It has a nice description of the restaurant, which some described as a cross between a coffee shop and a fine-dining restaurant, which fits with what my mother had described. The original restaurant begun in 1934 had 18 stools and 2 booths. The building was expanded in 1935, and from that date began a 24-hour business. My mother also made mention of the distinctive red leather booths, a kind of trademark of Ollie Hammond's.

The final picture is of Mr. Thompson at one of the red leather booths, showing a somewhat different view of the restaurant's interior.

Note:  Ollie Hammond's last restaurant closed in 1979.