Hard Rock Cafe "Returns" to Downtown

Militant Angeleno isn't about boosterism as it is about education. Los Angeles is one of the most misunderstood cities in the world, and sadly its own inhabitants partake in that misunderstanding. A great deal of that has to do with the fact that this city never gets the credit it deserves.

It all started while perusing Chowhound Los Angeles. In between posts dealing with Pinkberry opening announcements and whiny NY transplants complaining how __(insert food here)__ isn't nearly as good as back home and how one can never find a decent [said food] "out heah," I stumbled on a post regarding the whereabouts of the iconic Hard Rock Cafe at the Beverly Center.

Unbeknownst to this Militant Angeleno, who rarely ventures west of La Cienega, the Hard Rock Cafe on Beverly and San Vicente has been closed since January. "Oh noes!" I said to myself, "Where might I find an overpriced $10 hamburger in this town in the presence of a Fender Telecaster guitar signed by Tom Petty himself?" Of course, the Hard Rock Cafe at Universal Citywalk is still going strong, and yes, the irony of a gigantic Fender guitar within shouting distance of the Gibson Ampitheatre is not lost on me.

Anyway, thanks to the investigative handiwork of one Chowhounder named "Muskrat,"
so goes the post:

"At the risk of being obvious, I just called the Universal City Hard Rock.

Beverly Center is closed.

The person I spoke to says she's heard that two new L.A. locations are in the works: one near Staples Center, and one on the west side."

O RLY? Staples Center, eh?

Though the Hard Rock corporation credits its beginnings in London, England, its namesake was inspired by an eatery in Downtown Los Angeles which was referenced in the Doors 1970 album, Morrison Hotel. According to this site, the original Hard Rock Cafe was located on 300 E. Fifth Street (between Main and Los Angeles streets).

Moving the Los Angeles location of an iconic international establishment (the Bev Center location was the first HRC in the United States) from the (near) Westside to Downtown speaks volumes about the changing urban perspective of Los Angeles. If you still think Los Angeles "lacks a center," you need a serious update.

One can assume the future Downtown location would be located at or near the new L.A. Live! complex sprouting from the ground on Fig between Olympic and Chick Hearn Court. Hopefully the sunken convertible will find a new home there. So yes, you can once again has cheeseburger in Los Angeles. For $10.