Owner Fatally Shot at West L.A. Bistro : Gunman Opens Fire for No Apparent Reason as Victim Sits at Patio Table

It was not unusual to find Andre Coffyn sitting on the patio of the Michel Richard bistro in West Los Angeles. Patrons said the restaurateur often spent more time chatting than cooking.

But if his gregarious nature helped make the restaurant a big success along Designer Row, it may also have cost him his life.

Coffyn, 48, was killed by an armed robber late Monday as he sat at a crowded curbside table at the restaurant at 301 S. Robertson Blvd. Police said they have no motive for the shooting.

“There’s no evidence of any resistance or verbal altercations,” said Detective David Escoto of the homicide division. He said police have no reason to believe that anyone was out to get Coffyn.

Escoto said the gun-waving intruder approached diners at Coffyn’s table around 11 p.m., just as the restaurant was about to close. After demanding their watches and money, he reportedly fired one shot at Coffyn, then, without setting foot inside, fled in a car. Coffyn died at the scene.

Coffyn’s wife and 12-year-old daughter, who had left the restaurant only minutes before the shooting, were quickly summoned back from a nearby gas station, according to police.

Escoto said the robbery-homicide may be linked to a string of similar robberies in the area over the last several weeks. A thin man in his 30s who matches the description of Coffyn’s assailant has been tied to as many as six recent armed robberies involving watches.

Friends said Coffyn and his wife, who purchased the restaurant from chef Michel Richard two years ago, had never experienced crime problems. The breezy bistro, which sits amid pricey furniture and cabinet shops on a lively stretch of Robertson Boulevard, was known as a stopover for area shoppers and for French expatriates who appreciated the easy ambience.

Somewhat surprisingly, the restaurant was open for business as usual Tuesday, its patio lined with customers, though the joie de vivre that Coffyn encouraged in diners was missing.

Charles Glenn, a close friend of Coffyn from France, sat at a table near the door, glumly drinking coffee and smoking a cigarette. Glenn said he came to be with other regulars after a mutual friend called with the news of Coffyn’s death.

“This was a friendly place,” Glenn said. “It was just like being in France. Andre never gave you the impression that this was work for him. He was so warm.”

Glenn said that Coffyn came to California seven or eight years ago after dabbling in the clothing business in France. Coffyn and his wife had known Richard, a highly regarded chef, in France and eventually bought him out when he opened the Citrus restaurant on Melrose Avenue.

Mastered Craft

Although Coffyn had no formal training in cooking and no real standing among the city’s celebrity chefs, friends said he was a quick study who easily mastered the bistro-style offerings at Michel Richard, a place especially well known for its exotic pastries.

Jean-Jacques Retourne, Richard’s brother-in-law, said Coffyn was like a member of their family. “Michel is just destroyed by this,” Retourne said. “Andre was like the nicest man anyone ever met. He was the one who would make everyone laugh. He made everyone happy. He would always volunteer when we had benefits for children or any kind of events like that.”

Retourne said that he, Richard and Coffyn often got together to drink fine wine and smoke Cuban cigars. “It was a whole way of life,” Retourne said. “And it just died.”