Elina ShatkinIf it seemed like Tokyo 7-7 was the diner that time forgot, well, time finally remembered. One of the last outposts of pre-gentrification Culver City, Tokyo 7-7 Diner, will be closing its doors on December 18th after 27 years in business. Sad day. $3 breakfasts. $5 lunches. Gone.
Hidden from street view in an alley behind Bottle Rock, it's kind of amazing that the small, family-run, Japanese-American, cash-only diner survived as long as it did, to say nothing of becoming an institution. It was founded 27 years ago by Eju Ozawa, who still works in the kitchen along with his wife, Kazuko, and his two daughters, Yasuko and Ryuko.
The family-run business has been operating without a lease for some time. After the property owner raised the rent, Ozawa, 76, couldn't afford the space and decided to pack up.
Rumor is the owners plane to raze the building, build something bigger on that patch of land and develop it into something more lucrative, but this little piece of old Culver City will stay in our hearts long after the building is gone.
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