Arby’s Iconic Hollywood Restaurant Has Closed After 55 Years

• The franchisee working the 55-year-old Arby’s on Hollywood’s Sundown Boulevard has closed it down.
• “Reality is, I believe it was the pandemic that did us in,” 91-year-old proprietor Marilyn Leviton advised KTLA-5.
• California’s $20 minimal wage for fast-food staff and a necessity for brand new tools additionally led to the restaurant’s closure, she stated.

Beef sandwich chain Arby’s has closed its restaurant on Hollywood’s Sundown Boulevard after 55 years of working underneath one proprietor.

The placement is now not listed on Arby’s web site. Native station KTLA-5 reported that it closed on Saturday.

For the reason that restaurant opened in January 1969, it has solely had one proprietor: Marilyn Leviton, now 91, per KTLA-5.

“Reality is, I believe it was the pandemic that did us in,” Leviton advised the station. “I actually really feel we might have closed through the pandemic, aside from the federal loans.”

Eating places needed to dramatically change their operations through the pandemic and pivot to simply providing supply, assortment, and drive-thru as in-restaurant eating was prohibited underneath waves of lockdowns. Eating places additionally needed to take care of hovering meals and labor prices.

There have been different strains on the enterprise, too, Leviton advised KTLA-5.

“Arby’s is demanding extra technical tools, which we could not afford, and I do not suppose the $20-an-hour wage enhance helped both,” she stated.

California raised its minimal wage for staff at quick-service restaurant chains to $20 an hour in April — 25% greater than the state’s normal minimal wage. The restaurant trade lobbied towards the laws, arguing that it could drive them to up costs, lay off employees, and shut eating places.

Arby’s didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark made by Enterprise Insider outdoors common working hours.

KTLA-5 reported that when the Arby’s location first opened, it was the one fast-food restaurant on Sundown Boulevard with a view of the Hollywood signal.

Talking in regards to the closure of her restaurant, Leviton stated: “I am awfully sorry that it got here to this.”

“I believe we did a great job for 55 years,” she stated.