Beverly Hills (213) on the Outs With Victor Drai

Victor Drai doesn’t get bent out of shape very easily. After all, he knows that as the owner of Drai’s, one of the hottest restaurants in town, and as the person who ultimately determines who gets in and who gets snubbed, he’s bound to make a few enemies.

A local magazine reported that billionaire Marvin Davis and producer Arnold Kopelson were told nothing was available when they called for last-minute reservations. Former Spago maitre d’ Bernard Erpicum was shown the door for annoying Drai’s customers.

“Some Hollywood people expect to be treated like royalty,” says Drai. “I can’t make some poor schmuck wait for two hours because so-and-so walks into the restaurant. Besides, Marvin has come back many times--he’s a real sweetheart.”

The latest Drai flap involves the weekly publication Beverly Hills (213). When publisher Seth Baker was refused a table, he left a message for Drai to call him back. “I saw his message with 20 others and I didn’t call him,” says Drai. “I had no idea who he was.”

Shortly afterward, Drai’s La Cienega Boulevard restaurant was listed as “out” in an “In and Out” column published in Baker’s 50,000-circulation weekly. “First I heard (Baker) was mad and told his staff never to mention my restaurant in the paper again,” says Drai. “That didn’t bother me. What bothered me is when he put me in an ‘out’ list when I’m busy every night. That’s mean.”

“There are no blacklists or vendettas,” says Baker. “Drai’s was listed as ‘out’ because in the 12 years we’ve been doing this, I’ve never had as many complaints about a place. He’s been rude to an awful lot of people. He’s got to learn some manners.”

“The paper is read by people I don’t care about anyway,” says Drai. “I don’t even know the guy and I did nothing wrong to him.”

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