‘Golden Girls’ LA Pop-up Restaurant Has the Golden Touch

Cheesecake dessert items are pictured in front of a portrait of "The Golden Girls" cast at the Golden Girls Kitchen pop-up restaurant, Monday, July 25, 2022, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
Cheesecake dessert items are pictured in front of a portrait of "The Golden Girls" cast at the Golden Girls Kitchen pop-up restaurant, Monday, July 25, 2022, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
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‘Golden Girls’ LA Pop-up Restaurant Has the Golden Touch

Cheesecake dessert items are pictured in front of a portrait of "The Golden Girls" cast at the Golden Girls Kitchen pop-up restaurant, Monday, July 25, 2022, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)
Cheesecake dessert items are pictured in front of a portrait of "The Golden Girls" cast at the Golden Girls Kitchen pop-up restaurant, Monday, July 25, 2022, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (AP)

Picture it: A vacant Beverly Hills bistro has been transformed into the set of a 1980s sitcom about four women living in Miami — but it’s also a working restaurant.

Reservations have been going fast at the newly opened The Golden Girls Kitchen. Some patrons have come from out of state to see the pop-up eatery.

Joe Saunders, of Cranston, Rhode Island, his two teenage children and their mother were visiting Northern California when they learned about the pop-up. So they made a special trip south just to see it.

“I was a little hesitant about coming but my kids’ mom really wanted to come,” said Saunders, who was wearing a T-shirt referencing the sitcom’s fictitious Shady Pines retirement home. “It’s been a good time... the lasagna, the strawberry daiquiri and I’m going to have a piece of cake with ice cream, too.”

Thirty years after “The Golden Girls” ended on NBC, fans still can’t let go of the sitcom about four housemates — Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia — bonding over aging, dating and cheesecake. The first month of reservations sold out before the pop-up opened July 30, which the internet deems National Golden Girls Day. It’s just the latest example of the comedy rising to pop culture relevancy again. In just the past few months, the first ever Golden-Con fan convention was held in Chicago and a pilot for an animated, futuristic “Golden Girls” series is being shopped around.

Bucket Listers, an online events company, organized the pop-up. It had the blessing of Disney, which owns the rights to “Golden Girls.” So, organizers were free to put Easter Egg references in the decor and the menu. Upon walking in, fans are immediately greeted by a bartender at the Shady Pines bar. Further inside is a replica of the women’s kitchen counter, complete with a yellow wall phone. Behind the dining room is a recreation of Blanche’s bedroom, including the iconic banana leaf bedspread and wallpaper.

“It has been so heartwarming to see my mom light up. I know that she’s watched the show at least 50 times each season,” said A.J. Maloney, 23, who came from San Diego with her mother, Shellee, 45.

Derek Berry, Bucket Listers’ director of experiences, has plenty of experience staging pop-ups. Since 2016, he has overseen half-a-dozen restaurant tributes starting with a “Saved By the Bell” diner in Chicago. “Breaking Bad,” “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Good Burger” have also inspired fast-casual diners. Berry’s criteria for the pop-up treatment is if a show has “staying power” and people are constantly quoting it. “Golden Girls” was inevitable.

“Every time we announce a pop-up, we look at the comments. People are like ‘I love it, but you should have done this!’ And it’s always ‘Golden Girls,’” said Berry, who worked with a 45-member team.

One of the most fun aspects was working with executive chef Royce Burke to devise menu items and to name them. The choices of course include lasagna — which the Sicilian-born Sophia often cooked — and various flavors of cheesecake. There are also references to Scandinavian delicacies mentioned by Rose in her stories about her hometown of St. Olaf, Minnesota.

“I like all the St. Olaf items where you never knew if they were real or not,” Berry said. “We threw a couple on there. It’s so fun to see my staff and myself try to pronounce them.”

The pop-up only has reservations through late October. But its popularity has been beyond expectations. So much so that there are plans to take it on the road to New York, Chicago, San Francisco and, of course, Miami, Berry added.

“The Golden Girls” premiered in 1985. None of the four stars are alive. Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty all died in the late 2000s and Betty White died last December at age 99. Yet, because of cable reruns and streaming availability on Hulu, the show keeps finding new life and new, younger fans. The widely varying demographics of the restaurant’s patrons are proof of that.

Moses Nicholas and his girlfriend, Johanna James, both 18 and from Los Angeles, had a date over vegan lasagna and vegan cheesecake. Their reservation was a surprise gift from James’ mother, who knew both of them grew up watching “Golden Girls” in syndication and still catch it on Hulu.

“There’s something so relatable to the show for me for some reason,” Nicholas said. “I just find it really funny and it’s very comforting to watch.”

The couple’s ages is just proof the show “never dies,” James added.

Shirley Lyon and her three girlfriends, all of whom are senior citizens, came from Palos Verdes, California, with their own drinkware. The quartet, who call themselves “golden girls,” brought “Golden Girls” mugs they made but with their faces superimposed over the characters. Just being in the restaurant brought back the joy they feel when watching the sitcom.

“People here I think all love them,” Lyon said. “I don’t think anybody comes who hasn’t experienced how precious they are. I just love their friendship.”



De Niro Says Hollywood Worried about 'Wrath of Trump'

Many people were too worried about the 'wrath of Trump' to speak out against him, said De Niro. Miguel MEDINA / AFP
Many people were too worried about the 'wrath of Trump' to speak out against him, said De Niro. Miguel MEDINA / AFP
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De Niro Says Hollywood Worried about 'Wrath of Trump'

Many people were too worried about the 'wrath of Trump' to speak out against him, said De Niro. Miguel MEDINA / AFP
Many people were too worried about the 'wrath of Trump' to speak out against him, said De Niro. Miguel MEDINA / AFP

Robert De Niro told AFP Wednesday that many in Hollywood share his views on US President Donald Trump -- whom he denounced at the Cannes film festival opening -- but the industry is worried about speaking out against him.

The 81-year-old, one of the most outspoken critics of the American leader, used his Tuesday evening speech to condemn him again, calling him a "philistine".

"They have big businesses, they have to worry about the wrath of Trump, and that's where they have to make a decision: do I succumb to that or do I say no?" he told AFP.

But he cited as an inspiration the example of some US universities and legal firms who have stood up to attempts from Trump's administration to cow them.

"It's important, because other people pick that up, they see that they're fighting, it gives them strength to fight, and they're inspired by that," he added.

"They say it is possible... that's what America is about."

After accepting an honorary Palme d'Or on Tuesday evening for his contribution to cinema, the "Taxi Driver" star called for resistance against Trump's agenda.

As well as calling the president a "philistine", De Niro slammed his desire to implement 100-percent tariffs on films "produced in foreign lands".

"You can't have apathy, you can't have silence," De Niro said on Wednesday.

"People have to speak up and they have to take chances and risk being harassed. You just can't let the bully win, period."

Documentary film

De Niro also revealed Wednesday that he has been working on a new personal film project with New York-based French artist JR, best known for his huge photographic collages.

The film will be an exploration of De Niro's family, particularly his father, a painter, and the actor has opened up his family archives including abundant family videos.

"I don't know where we'll go," he told an audience during an interview with JR in Cannes. "There's no time limit, as far as I'm concerned."

The pair revealed some of the first images of their work, which include huge photos of De Niro's father and a sequence in which De Niro can be seen lying on one of them while travelling on a barge in New York's harbor.

It also features an appearance from Martin Scorsese, who directed De Niro in some of his best-known movies including "Goodfellas" and "Raging Bull".

The film also sees De Niro reflect on his life and twilight years.

Asked if he was afraid of death, he replied: "I don't have a choice, so you might as well not be afraid of it."