Eatery Perks Back to Life--With a Twist : Landmarks: Ships coffee shop, whose demise was widely lamented in August, quietly reopens in Culver City--but with non-union waitresses.

When the last two ‘50s-style Ships coffee shops shut this summer, tears fell for yet another piece of Los Angeles history and the loss of yet another slice of quirky culture.

The aged owner simply couldn’t keep going, couldn’t compete with those fast-food joints.

But a funny thing happened: A new business purchased the liquidated Ships. On Friday, with the tight-lipped son of the original owners at the helm, the old Ships in Culver City reopened without a word of advance notice--and with only a small number of the employees who had been there for August’s closure.

The new Ships looks just like the old Ships, except for the waitresses who serve you. The old Ships had a contract with the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. The new one uses non-union workers, who are usually paid less and receive fewer benefits.

Gone are many of the feisty women who greeted customers by first names, knew their favorite dishes, and already had the coffee poured by the time diners reached their seats. Gone, too, is the irreverent banter that once bounced back and forth over the counter.

Matt Shipman, whose father and grandfather opened the first Ships in 1956, refused to comment on how the new Ships evolved and why most of the old waitresses were not hired back.

Indeed, to some surprised longtime customers who discovered Ships reopened Friday, the place seemed different. Maybe it was the new computer. Or the menus (tables had photocopies of the original menus because those had disappeared into the hands of souvenir seekers).

Many of the trademark vintage Sunbeam toasters that sat at every table have been replaced by less distinctive cousins. And service was slower. (“We’re just starting up and the kitchen is a little slower,” explained one of the new waitresses.)

Shirley Ward, who did not get her job back after working at Ships for 16 years, said the only thing worse than the coffee shop’s closing was it reopening without taking back so many longtime employees, who had come to view the place, the customers and co-workers as family.

“I feel betrayed. I lost my family, my job,” said Ward, 62. “We were just put out to pasture. We can’t understand why they didn’t hire us back. I’m just wondering if it’s my age.”

Ward, once famous for her eccentric earring collection that enabled her to wear a different pair to work seemingly every day, has gone to numerous job interviews but has landed nothing. Today, she is considering whether to start going to interviews for jobs as a bus driver.

Others, too, said they felt the slap of rejection as well as the cold bite of fear of the future. Some, such as Wanda Pittman, 52, have applied for food stamps.

“It makes me feel inadequate,” said Pittman, who worked at Ships in Culver City for 18 years but did not get her job back. “I have a 12-year-old daughter I have to take care of. It’s scary.”

Shipman, Ships’ new chief operating officer, said that when the La Cienega Boulevard and Culver City Ships closed in late August, there were no plans for reopening. Beyond that, he would say only: “It’s a new business.”

Hovering anxiously by the cashier, Shipman manned the phones, telling callers that yes, indeed, the 24-hour Ships was once again dishing out chicken pot pie and brisket.

Most of the customers wandered in after seeing cars in the parking lot and noticing that the boards had been pried from the windows.

No fanfare. No announcement. Just open, as though it had never closed.

“I was driving by looking for a market and did a double take,” said Marv Donner, a salesman.

One woman entered Ships absolutely stunned that it was open.

“Wow, am I in the twilight zone or what?” she exclaimed.

When Ships closed, many lamented the loss of one of Los Angeles’ distinctive architectural styles. Ships, with its Jetson-era sign, came to be known as a classic example of “Googie”-style architecture, named after a now-shut West Hollywood restaurant.

But longtime diners see past the Formica. To them, it was the waitresses and the crowd that defined Ships as much as the comfort food it served.

John Findlay, who has faithfully eaten at Ships since it first opened, was relieved to see two of the waitresses who had previously worked there. In a world where so much can change so abruptly, he was glad they gave him his customary greeting, calling him “the Grouch” because of his gruffness.

“One waitress even hugged me,” said Findlay, who was clearly pleased.

Eugene and Dorothy Gerow, a retired Mar Vista couple who ate lunch Friday at Ships, were convinced that the food tasted different.

“It was good but not the same,” said Eugene Gerow, who initially had intended to drive by what had been his favorite restaurant to see if it was being torn down.

Despite the apparent difference in the food, the elderly couple were thrilled.

“It’s like coming home,” explained Dorothy Gerow.