Restaurateur Arthur Whizzin Dies at 88
Arthur Whizzin, famed owner of the now-defunct Chili Bowl restaurant chain and later the Canyon Club off Kanan Road in Agoura, has died. He was 88.
Whizzin, a 14-year resident of Camarillo’s Leisure Village, died Sunday from complications of Parkinson’s disease, said his son, Bruce Whizzin of Sherman Oaks.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Dec. 14, 1994 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday December 14, 1994 Valley Edition Metro Part B Page 3 Column 5 No Desk 1 inches; 21 words Type of Material: Correction
Misspelled name--An obituary in The Times on Tuesday incorrectly spelled the name of an Agoura restaurateur. Arthur Whizin died Sunday at the age of 88.
“Dad was known for what he did in the restaurant business, but he was also a good athlete and outdoorsman,” Bruce Whizzin said. “He was a good father and we’re going to miss him a lot.”
Whizzin opened his first restaurant, the T&T; Cafe on Pico Boulevard in 1927. He did so well there that three years later he opened his first Chili Bowl restaurant at Crenshaw and Jefferson boulevards, the first of what would become nearly two dozen Chili Bowl locations.
“The Chili Bowls were famous at the time,” Bruce Whizzin said. “If you were in the movie business that’s where you would hang out.”
Whizzin, who was born in Brooklyn, moved to California when he was 16 years old and held a series of different jobs before finding his niche in the restaurant business.
Bruce Whizzin said that his father survived the Depression because of his keen business wits and because he always insisted upon owning the land where his eateries were located. At the time of his death, he owned property throughout Los Angeles County.
In 1954, Whizzin developed what many Ventura Freeway commuters now know as the Canyon Club off Kanan Road as a small food store. Subsequent makeovers of the facility changed the small store to a cafe to the present modern restaurant, bar and entertainment center.
In addition to his son, Arthur Whizzin is survived by a daughter, Nancy Bleicher of North Hollywood; brothers Charly and Albert Whizzin, and sisters Frances Wasserman and Evelyn Benton. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Whizzin was married to the former Shirley Cohen, who died in 1986.
Services will be held at 1 p.m. today at Adat Ari El Synagogue, 120 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood. Burial will follow at Eden Cemetery in Sylmar.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
