Valley eatery believes in pickles, not pickets

When the writers walked out in 1988, this family-run restaurant on Ventura Boulevard, a favorite of Hollywood’s workforce, suffered a 30% to 40% decline in business, Ginsburg said. That could happen again.

“We’ve got a lot of studio clientele, writers, producers and people from associated businesses who have breakfast and lunch meetings here,” said Ginsburg, noting that many deals have been made at Art’s. Lore has it that concepts for TV shows including “Everybody Loves Raymond” were born over lox and bagels or pastrami.

“If someone is out of work, you can’t really say, ‘Hey, come on and eat here,’ ” he said.

Ginsburg said that over the last three weeks, he’s seen an uptick in business as film studios and networks have stepped up production in anticipation of a walkout.

Art’s also delivers often to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in Encino, which represents the studios and TV networks.

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Claudia Eller