Lawry's is an upscale gourmet

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories in many pa ...

specializing in

prime rib A standing rib roast, also known as prime rib, is a cut of beef from the primal rib, one of the primal cuts of beef. While the entire rib section comprises ribs six through 12, a standing rib roast may contain anywhere from two to seven ribs. I ...

and the brand name of a seasoned salt blend spun off by the restaurant founders that evolved into a food products company today owned by

McCormick & Company McCormick & Company, Incorporated is an American food company that manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavoring products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and food service businesses. The ...

. The original location on Restaurant Row on

La Cienega Boulevard La Cienega Boulevard is a major north–south arterial road in the Los Angeles metropolitan area that runs from the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood in the north to El Segundo Boulevard in Hawthorne in the south. It was named for Rancho Las ...

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

, was opened in 1938 by Lawrence L. "Lawry" Frank and Walter Van de Kamp. There are now several additional locations in the United States and worldwide. The company is still operated by the families of the founders, with Richard R. Frank, grandson of Lawrence Frank, serving as president and CEO. For many years Lawry's

carvery A carvery is a pub or a restaurant where cooked meat is freshly sliced to order for customers, sometimes offering unlimited servings in a buffet style for a fixed price. The term is most commonly used in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, ...

was unique in having only a single entrée on its menu,

standing rib roast A standing rib roast, also known as prime rib, is a cut of beef from the primal rib, one of the primal cuts of beef. While the entire rib section comprises ribs six through 12, a standing rib roast may contain anywhere from two to seven ribs. I ...

. It now offers alternatives such as vegetarian specials and lobster tails, but retains its focus on carved-to-order roast beef served tableside from a large metal cart.

History

In 1922 Frank and Van de Kamp founded the Lawry's company and created the Tam O'Shanter Inn restaurant in the Atwater Village district of Los Angeles, California, which claims to be the oldest restaurant in Los Angeles still operated by the same family in the same location. In 1938, the two opened Lawry's The Prime Rib on La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills. In 1947 Lawry's restaurant moved from its original location on La Cienega across the street and a few yards further south to a larger, mostly windowless, strikingly modernistic building designed by Wayne McAllister. In 1993, it moved to a new building on the original site. McAllister's building is now occupied by The Stinking Rose, a well-known garlic-themed Italian restaurant. In 1956, just prior to the

1957 Rose Bowl The 1957 Rose Bowl was the 43rd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday, January 1. The third- ranked Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference defeated the No. 10 Oregon State Beav ...

Game between the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

and the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

, Lawry's entertained the two competing teams. The Beavers were fed a prime rib dinner at the Beverly Hills restaurant and the Hawkeyes the same on the Pasadena City College football field following their practice. This started an annual tradition of hosting both Rose Bowl-bound teams, although following the inaugural event with Iowa, the Big Ten teams were served outside Rose Bowl Stadium from 1957-1962. By 1963, when Illinois and Washington both dined at the restaurant on separate nights prior to the 1964 Rose Bowl Game, the two team events had become known as "Lawry's Beef Bowl." The Beef Bowl has expanded to the

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, location for the two Cotton Bowl participants. In 1974, Lawry's opened a satellite in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

River North River North is a Chicago neighborhood located north of the Chicago River, south of Division Street, and west of Wabash Avenue. It is adjacent to the Magnificent Mile retail and tourism corridor. River North has become one of Chicago's top n ...

district, followed by restaurants in Dallas in 1983 and

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

in 1997. Internationally, Lawry's opened in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

in 1997,

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

in 1999,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in 2001,

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

in 2002,

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in 2006,

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

in 2008, and Seoul in 2013. However, the Dallas, Chicago, Jakarta, and Shanghai locations are now closed.

Seasoned salt

While operating the Tam O'Shanter, Frank created a special seasoned salt for use there, which was available only to customers. In 1938, Lawry's opened The Prime Rib on La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills and began marketing its signature seasoned salt in retail stores. This marked the beginning of a food products company under the Lawry's name that today sells a wide range of seasonings and flavorings. The line was sold to

Lipton Lipton is a brand named after its founder, Sir Thomas Lipton, Tom Lipton, who started an eponymous grocery retail business in the United Kingdom in 1871. The brand was used for various consumer goods sold in Lipton stores, including tea from 1 ...

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

in 1979, which in turn sold it to

in 2008.

Restaurant menu

Along with roasted

of beef, the restaurant is known for its

Yorkshire pudding Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk or water. A common English side dish, it is a versatile food that can be served in numerous ways depending on its ingredients, size, and the accompanying compone ...

and its signature "spinning salad," introduced when the restaurant opened in 1938 and still included with every entree. At the time of its founding, salads usually consisted of a combination of fruit, cottage cheese, and gelatin; Lawry's restaurant was one of the first to feature a green salad as an integral part of every meal. The salad is prepared tableside by a server who spins a large metal bowl of greens atop a bed of ice, which is then dressed with "Vintage classic dressing with

sherry wine Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versions ...

". The salad dressing is sold in bottles at the restaurant but not at retail.

References

External links

* {{Restaurants of Los Angeles County, California Restaurants established in 1938 Restaurants in Chicago Restaurants in Los Angeles Restaurants in Hong Kong Regional restaurant chains in the United States Steakhouses in the United States 1938 establishments in California Roast beef restaurants in the United States