Popular steakhouse changes hands

Rima Shah

Damon’s Steakhouse, a popular restaurant since 1937, is changing

ownership beginning next week.

The restaurant had been family owned until it was sold to Pat

Campbell, said Owana Anderson, manager of Damon’s.

“The family decided they didn’t want to stay in the business any

longer,” Anderson said.

Executives for the restaurant, 317 N. Brand Blvd., declined

further comment.

Restaurant patrons, many of whom have been eating in the

Polynesian-themed restaurant for years, hope the new owners do not

make major changes, like altering the name.

“The moment you start monkeying around, you lose patronage,”

Councilman Dave Weaver said. “It’s been known as Damon’s for a long

time. The moment you start changing that, the menu, you start losing

customers.”

Some customers, however, don’t care about the decor.

“It has a tropical feel about it, but the food’s not particularly

tropical,” said Marea O’Brien, who lunches there at least once a

month.

She hopes they don’t change the kind of restaurant it is.

“It’s one of the nice places where you can sit down and eat and

have more than a sandwich,” O’Brien said.

Weaver, who stressed he was commenting as a Glendale resident and

not a councilman, said he’ll continue to eat there if the new owner

maintains the quality.

“It’s been a success for so long,” he said. “So why fool around

with success?”

The restaurant had been having labor problems in 2002, when

employees picketed in front of the restaurant for job security from

the new owners.

Efforts to reach the new owner were unsuccessful.