On the evening of Wednesday, October 28, regulars of Ye Rustic Inn gathered outside the bar at 1831 Hillhurst Avenue. The staff had called the gathering a "circle of hope and unity." KTLA reported that the bar had been on Hillhurst since 1971, that the landlord wanted the outdoor space closed by the following Monday, and that there had been little discussion about renewing the lease before the new year. Councilmember Nithya Raman made a surprise appearance, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Eleven days earlier, Messhall Kitchen had served its last meal on Los Feliz Boulevard. The two places operated in different ways. Messhall had a raw bar and an oversized patio. Ye Rustic is a dark dive known for wings and karaoke. What they have in common this fall is that a city protection was already in place at each address. Los Angeles has listed the Messhall building as a landmark for twenty years, and it approved Ye Rustic's outdoor dining permit after a long process. Messhall still closed, and Ye Rustic's future now depends on its lease.
What Monument No. 843 Covers
The building at 4500 Los Feliz Boulevard is on the City of Los Angeles list of Historic-Cultural Monuments as the Los Feliz Brown Derby, HCM No. 843, adopted May 19, 2006. The listing names the building. Over the years, a series of different operators have run restaurants inside it:
- Willard's Chicken Inn, which LAist says was financed by Cecil B. DeMille and designed by Wayne McAllister. Eater dates its opening to 1929.
- The Brown Derby, which took over the building in 1940.
- Michael's, from 1960.
- Louise's Trattoria and the Derby nightclub, which shared the building in the 1990s and stayed until 2009. In a 1998 letter, the Los Angeles Times described the Derby as the club from "Swingers" and a center of the swing music and dance revival.
- Messhall, which started daily service on September 10, 2012, according to Eater LA's opening coverage.
Messhall stayed 14 years, which Eater LA's October closures roundup noted along with "one of the city's most extensive patios" and a menu of raw seafood, burgers and cocktails. The New York Post described its camp-lodge decor, patio fire pits and $1 oyster Tuesdays. It also reported that the restaurant gave no reason for closing and instead asked regulars to "raise a glass" during its final month, with the farewell line "What a pleasure it's been."
Those five tenants span roughly a century. The Derby nightclub era is the one most of the city remembers, and it lasted less than two decades. The building's landmark listing dates to 2006. The restaurants inside have always been short-term, and Messhall's 14 years was a typical run for this address.
A Permit Approved, a Patio Removal Scheduled
Ye Rustic Inn is a case where the operator got the city's approval and still faces an uncertain future.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the bar went through "a long struggle with the city" to renew its outdoor dining permit and that the permit "was eventually approved." After that approval, the landlord told the bar to shut down its outdoor seating. Management said closing the patio would cut into revenue, and they worried the lease would not be renewed when it ends in January.
Owner Susan Wood, who has owned the bar since 1999, told The California Post that the landlord linked the patio removal to concerns from an insurance company, and that she had been trying to negotiate a renewal. The bar's own appeal on Instagram, as quoted by the Post, read:
"To our Los Feliz community and lovers of Ye Rustic Inn, we need you. Our outdoor space is scheduled to be removed on Monday and our lease is also looking at an uncertain future. We need our community's support."
That Monday was November 2. Manager Michael Canaan told KTLA that the bar had tried to negotiate and was willing to meet the landlord's safety concerns. As of the last week of October, the bar had announced no closing date and was still serving indoors.
The city's part in Ye Rustic's patio ended when the permit was approved. What happens next turns on the patio date and the lease, and both depend on discussions between the bar and the property's owner.
Why the Patio Is the Part at Risk
On this stretch of Los Feliz, the outdoor space is often what a place is known for. Eater's account of Messhall leads with its patio. The New York Post describes Messhall as a gathering space for Eastsiders, built around fire pits outside. At Ye Rustic, the patio was the part the bar had just gone through the city process to keep, and it was the first thing the landlord asked to remove.
Owner Susan Wood's account shows that a patio depends on more than a dining permit, because the landlord cited an insurer's concerns. Ye Rustic now faces two dates. The patio removal was set for November 2. The lease runs out in January.
Ye Rustic went into this fall with its October traditions in place. Eater LA noted that the bar "goes full spooky season each October," with spider webs across the interior and a devil watching over the bar. It hosted a no-cover Halloween party called A Haunting on Hillhurst and was named by Eater's deputy editor as home to Los Angeles's best Buffalo wings. A bar that has been on Hillhurst for more than half a century now faces a lease that runs out in January.
Where Los Feliz Evenings Go Between Now and January
The places with the most certain calendars this winter are the public institutions up the hill. Their dates are fixed and published.
| Date | Venue | What's on |
|---|---|---|
| November 14 | Griffith Observatory | Public Star Party, 2:00 to 9:45 p.m., and a Sunset Walk & Talk, 3:30 to 6:00 p.m., led by Observatory staff, ecologists and Griffith Park Rangers |
| November 20 to January 10 | Los Angeles Zoo | L.A. Zoo Lights, select evenings, with a separately ticketed artificial ice-skating rink |
| November 26 | Both | Observatory closed for Thanksgiving; Zoo Lights dark |
| December 8 | Los Angeles Zoo | Sensory-Inclusive Zoo Lights |
| December 17 | Los Angeles Zoo | Pride Night at Zoo Lights |
| December 19 | Griffith Observatory | Public Star Party |
| December 21 | Griffith Observatory | Sunset Walk & Talk |
Zoo Lights has all-new displays this year, themed on plants, pollinators and Ice Age giants. It also brings back the carousel, churros, s'mores, hot cocoa, and spiked cocoa for guests 21 and over. The Zoo also lists closures on November 30; December 1, 7, 14 through 16, 24, 25 and 31; and January 4 through 7, so check the calendar before planning a date there. The Observatory is closed Mondays and on Christmas Day, with shortened hours on December 24 and 31.
Hillhurst still has several established places for dinner. The Infatuation's Los Feliz guide, updated in July 2026, lists Little Dom's at 2128 Hillhurst for brunch and date nights, All Time at 2040 Hillhurst for breakfast and outdoor seating, Yuca's at 2056 Hillhurst for a quick lunch, and Vandell at 1966 Hillhurst for cocktails and a short bistro menu. All four are within a few blocks of Ye Rustic, and the former Messhall building sits at the top of the street on Los Feliz Boulevard.
Josh Flagg has spent his career representing properties with recorded history, from Owlwood in Holmby Hills to the estate of Betsy Bloomingdale, where a property's past is part of its value. If you own a Los Feliz home with a history like the Brown Derby building's, Josh Flagg and his team can talk with you about how that history should be presented when the property changes hands. Work With Josh.
