Shopping Center to Replace Tail O’ the Cock Restaurant

Tail O’ the Cock, the Studio City restaurant that was for years a show business favorite, will be demolished early next year to make way for a shopping center, its owner said.

Herbert M. Piken, a Studio City developer who owns the 39-year-old eatery, wouldn’t say more about his plans for the 2.3-acre site on the southwest corner of Ventura Boulevard and Coldwater Canyon Avenue.

Piken bought the restaurant for an undisclosed price several months ago from Shelton McHenry, its longtime owner, who was unavailable for comment. The restaurant does a good business, Piken said, but the property can yield more profit as a shopping center.

A parade of Hollywood luminaries has passed through the restaurant over the years, and Piken said he recalls having seen Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton there.

Piken, who said he has built 11 shopping centers in the San Fernando Valley and 22 more throughout Southern California, was asked if he feels bad about razing a place so full of memories.