Clifton's Republic: The Story of an LA Icon
Opened in 1935 as Clifton's Brookdale, Clifton's Cafeteria was the second in a chain of theme restaurants founded by Clifford Clinton. As the child of restaurateurs and devout Christians who had self-funded a mission to China, Clinton was especially sensitive to the Great Depression's human toll, which he saw every day. Sure, he hoped the over-the-top décor would give his venture a competitive edge, but he also saw the restaurant as a beacon of hope, committed to serving the poor, the tired, the huddled masses yearning to eat free. Patrons could pay whatever they wanted and a sign invited them to "Dine Free Unless Delighted."
Many were. At its peak, Clifton's reportedly served more than 10,000 people a day. The food was simple: Salisbury steak, sliced turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cubes of Jell-O.
How magical would it be to instantly trade the sidewalks and steel of an urban downtown for a woodland utopia? Clifton's spanned 16,000 square feet of faux redwoods, frolicking forest creatures, scenic murals, a brook babbling with limeade and a 20-foot waterfall cascading over artificial rocks. To say that Clifton’s was unique is like saying LeBron James is a pretty decent basketball player. Imagine a larger-than-life diorama designed by Walt Disney on a Pine Sol-fueled bender. Simply put, it was unlike any other restaurant in Los Angeles.
In the 1930s, Downtown was the business and social hub of Los Angeles. Gorgeous buildings housed the city's most powerful banks while grand movie palaces screened cinema blockbusters to thousands of patrons. Attractions such as Olvera Street, Angels Flight and Pershing Square brought visitors to the area. Charming, cluttered and kitschy, Clifton's added to the allure. The woodland utopia became a favorite of tourists and locals alike.
After World War II, Downtown L.A.'s fortunes began to decline. Crime increased and many of the area's residents relocated to the suburbs. By the 1980s, the once-vibrant neighborhood had lost much of its appeal. But Clifton's maintained a devoted base of local fans, with generation after generation returning to the place. Clinton died in 1969 and by 2006, the Clifton's on Broadway was the only location in the once-thriving chain.
Clinton's heirs continued to run the restaurant, under increasing financial pressure, until 2010, when they sold it to Andrew Meieran, a businessman and nightclub impresario with a preservationist bent. Meieran was among the first wave of developers who set their sights on Downtown in the late '90s, when the city passed an adaptive reuse ordinance that made it easier to transform the neighborhood's historic buildings. In 2000, he opened The Edison, a snazzy, subterranean bar carved out of a former power plant that had been built in 1910.
For Clifton's, Meieran had originally envisioned a thoughtful but relatively quick revamp that would keep the historic restaurant open throughout the renovation. After a four-year closure and a $14 million overhaul, Clifton’s Cafeteria reopened to the public on Oct. 1, 2015.
Now known as Clifton's Republic, the building's original stained concrete facade was unveiled in 2012 after being encased in metal for nearly 50 years. The revamped cafeteria quietly closed in September 2018 and is reportedly being transformed into a global dining hall. Clifton's is currently only open Thursday to Saturday, as well as special events.
On the second floor, you'll find the Monarch Bar as well as a miniature chapel designed for kids. (Sadly, the neon cross that illuminated the original was broken during renovations.) The other major attraction will be hard to miss. At the center of an atrium that Meieran cut into the building stands a 40-foot-tall fake redwood tree. Its base is located near the Monarch Bar on the second level and it reaches up to the ceiling with reinforced branches designed to hold aerialists.
The third floor is home to the Gothic Bar, which features a booth named after sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury, a patron of the original Clifton's who became a pal of Meieran's. The back bar is a repurposed 19th-century gothic altar. The third floor also features Clinton Hall, a live performance and private event space, and lots of taxidermy dioramas created in consultation with experts from the Natural History Museum.
On the fourth floor, offices were transformed into two more bars - Treetops and the stunning Pacific Seas, which debuted in November 2016. Accessed through a mirrored door and a hidden staircase on the third floor, the Tiki-themed Pacific Seas features Polynesian décor that Meieran bought from Bahooka, a popular Rosemead bar that closed in 2014. The centerpiece is a restored Chris-Craft boat that houses a DJ setup.
The idea behind Clifton's Republic was to create a multi-story playground: bars for cocktail enthusiasts, grottos for kids, dining rooms for private parties, spaces that create a sense of wonder in every nook and cranny - just like the original Clifton's.
