After Five Decades, Lawry’s Recipe for Success Still Works

In June of 1938, the talk in local restaurant circles was about that strange new eatery Lawrence L. Frank and his partner Walter Van de Kamp were opening in Beverly Hills. It seems that the two brothers-in-law thought they could make money selling prime rib--and only prime rib.

“I remember my father saying that fellow local restaurateurs told him that a single entree restaurant would never work,” said Richard N. Frank, chairman of Lawry’s Foods and president of Lawry’s Restaurants, which operate as separate companies.

Today, as Lawry’s Restaurants and Lawry’s Foods each celebrate their 50th anniversary, that original Lawry’s Prime Rib Restaurant on La Cienega Boulevard has been joined by prime rib restaurants in Dallas and Chicago. Lawry’s Restaurants, which had sales of more than $20 million last year, also owns Tam O’Shanter Inn in Los Angeles and Five Crowns in Corona del Mar.

In fact, the success of the first restaurant sparked demand for another Lawry’s product, the seasoned salt placed on each table. Customers liked it so much they would take it home, said Frank, the founder’s son.

Introduced in the mid-1940s and sold from the back of a World War II jeep, Lawry’s Seasoned Salt is now the top-selling blended seasoning in the United States. Lawry’s Foods distributes more than 110 products worldwide and has sales of about $150 million.

In 1979, Thomas J. Lipton Inc. bought Lawry’s Foods, including Lawry’s California Center, a combination corporate headquarters, factory and restaurant in Northeast Los Angeles. On June 4, Frank will step down as chairman of Lawry’s Foods but continue as president of his family-owned Lawry’s Restaurants. It will be the first time that a Frank family member has not been in a top post of the company.