Historic Formosa Cafe To Reopen In West Hollywood

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA — The historic Formosa Cafe, which originally operated from 1945 until 2016, is set to reopen in West Hollywood this Friday after a two-year, $2.4 million renovation by 1933 Group.

The 1933 Group — owners of La Cuevita, Bigfoot Lodge, and Idle Hour — brought in master craftsmen to restore and re-vamp the landmark property, KTLA reported.

"It was built between 1904 and 1906. It was put here in 1940," Green said. "Back then, you would buy an old train car just to make your restaurant bigger."

The new version of the former celebrity hot spot will still have many memorable bits of decoration, like black-and-white photos of Frank Sinatra, Humphrey Bogart, Bugsy Siegal, James Dean and more, ABC7 reported.

The new menu will have updated Chinese-American dishes thanks to chef David Kuo, as well as handcrafted old-fashioned Hollywood cocktails, KTLA reported.

"It seems that the gangsters and the celebrities used to hang out hand-in-hand back in the day. This place has so many great stories along with it," 1933 Group Owner and Designer Bobby Green told the news station. "'Where the stars dine' and 'Meet me at the Formosa' were the two famous slogans of the place."

Formosa Cafe reopens this Friday and is located at 7156 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. For more information, visit the Formosa Cafe website.