Flood closes Musso & Frank Grill ahead of its 100th birthday celebration

Just over a week before Musso & Frank Grill celebrates its 100-year anniversary on Sept. 27, a flood has temporarily closed the storied Hollywood restaurant.

I learned about the closure because I had a reservation tonight for my first-ever meal there. Friends who are fans of “Musso’s” were going to steer me toward the proper martini order (always stirred, never shaken) and shepherd me through its history as a celebrity watering hole: which booth was Charlie Chaplin’s, where Brad Pitt sat as he sipped a bloody mary in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

Reached by phone, general manager Andrea Scuto mentioned that staff had contacted diners with reservations for tonight and tomorrow night, and said he hoped the restaurant would be open again by Saturday night. Reservations, at least through the OpenTable app, appear entirely booked in the few days leading up to the restaurant’s centennial.

Next Friday, as part of the day’s celebrations, Musso & Frank Grill will receive its own brass and terrazzo star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, near its entrance.