{"id":324477,"date":"2026-05-20T11:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/324477\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T11:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:42:11","slug":"the-la-mexican-restaurant-thats-served-john-wayne-sabrina-carpenter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/324477\/","title":{"rendered":"The LA Mexican restaurant that’s served John Wayne, Sabrina Carpenter"},"content":{"rendered":"

The entrance of iconic Los Angeles\u00a0Mexican restaurant<\/a> El Coyote is plastered with signed celebrity headshots representing a who\u2019s-who of generations of Hollywood stars. 1960s British singer Engelbert\u00a0Humperdinck, actor Brian Dennehy, the late comedian Bob Saget and original child star Shirley Temple all make appearances. Tucked away at the top of one wall, there\u2019s even a signed pic from of-the-moment pop princess Sabrina Carpenter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t know who any of the younger people are,\u201d said second-generation owner Margie Christoffersen of Carpenter and her ilk, noting that recent notable visitors have included gravelly voiced, perennial tough guy Sam Elliott and music power couple Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton.<\/p>\n

Christoffersen\u2019s aunt Blanche and uncle George opened El Coyote nearby on La Brea Avenue in 1931. The restaurant \u2014 known for its signature red-and-white neon sign, kitschy decor like strung multicolored Christmas lights, big platters of cheesy enchiladas and stiff\u00a0margaritas<\/a> \u2014\u00a0recently celebrated its 95th birthday, making it the second-oldest Mexican restaurant in LA, just a few years behind El Cholo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/p>\n

The signature red-and-white neon signs and awnings at El Coyote in Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wonho Frank Lee\"The<\/p>\n

The ceiling of the entrance at El Coyote in Los Angeles showcases numerous photos of celebrities that have visited the restaurant over the years.<\/p>\n

Wonho Frank Lee\"Margie<\/p>\n

Margie Christoffersen, the second-generation owner of El Coyote, poses for a portrait at the restaurant in Los Angeles on May 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Wonho Frank Lee<\/p>\n

El Coyote\u2019s roots in Hollywood lore run much deeper than they first appear. According to Christoffersen, the restaurant\u2019s original location near Old Hollywood movie studios made it a favorite for stars like Western legend John Wayne, who would bring other celebrities to dine there. (It moved to its current location on Beverly Boulevard in 1951.)<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere are so many, but a few highlights include Princess Grace and Prince Rainier, and Drew\u00a0Barrymore grew up running around here,\u201d Christoffersen said. She took over operations in 1991, after Blanche died and ownership of the restaurant went to her father.<\/p>\n

Then, of course, there is the tragic story of actress Sharon Tate, who famously had dinner at El Coyote with her friends Jay\u00a0Sebring, Voytek Frykowski and Abigail Folger during a night in August 1969; the group was later murdered by the\u00a0Manson Family<\/a> in the Benedict Canyon home that Tate shared with her husband, director Roman\u00a0Polanski.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople still come and ask to see \u2018the booth\u2019 and take pictures,\u201d Christoffersen said.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s a scene that Quentin Tarantino<\/a> captured in his 2019 film \u201cOnce Upon a Time … in Hollywood,\u201d a retelling of the\u00a0Manson murders. But unbeknownst to many, he shot the scene of Tate, played by Margot Robbie, and her friends in a different booth than the one the group actually dined at.<\/p>\n

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The colorful dining room at El Coyote in Los Angeles features booths and strung Christmas lights.<\/p>\n

Wonho Frank Lee\"El<\/p>\n

El Coyote owner Margie\u00a0Christoffersen interacts with customers in Los Angeles on May 15, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wonho Frank Lee<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who know El Coyote know that it\u2019s not the right booth, but it was our three minutes of fame, and I\u2019ll tell you, it was huge,\u201d Christoffersen said, adding with a laugh, \u201cQuentin can have anything he wants here, anytime.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Over the decades, El Coyote has had its share of challenges: In 1991, after Blanche\u2019s death, the restaurant closed for seven weeks to complete construction to bring it back up to code. Despite not making an announcement \u2014 this was obviously well before modern\u00a0websites or social media \u2014 diners flocked to the restaurant when it reopened.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a two-hour wait by five o\u2019clock,\u201d\u00a0Christoffersen said. \u201cThe next day, we ran out of margarita mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

These days,\u00a0Christoffersen can regularly be seen greeting guests and chatting with tables. On a recent Friday around midday, couples and families were seated in curved red booths under the restaurant\u2019s mosaics and seashell-framed mirrors (many of them made by Blanche March herself), digging into standards like house-made chunky guacamole, sweet corn tamales<\/a> stuffed with green chiles, and sizzling platters of fajitas served with shrimp, chicken or steak. A woman sporting El Coyote gear celebrated her 88th birthday in the bar area; the entryway saw a steady stream of people waiting for tables in El Coyote\u2019s several compact dining areas, each with its own colorful, ramshackle charm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Christoffersen and her team are looking to big events like the upcoming World Cup<\/a> to shine a light on Los Angeles \u2014 and on El Coyote. She plans to install TVs on the restaurant\u2019s outdoor patio so that avid fans can watch matches.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The bar area at El Coyote in Los Angeles is outfitted with neon signs and hanging glass lamps.<\/p>\n

Wonho Frank Lee\"A<\/p>\n

A spread of dishes and drinks at El Coyote in Los Angeles on May 15, 2026.<\/p>\n

Wonho Frank Lee\"A<\/p>\n

A stained-glass window at the bar at El Coyote in Los Angeles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wonho Frank Lee<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you come to LA, you have to come to the Coyote,\u201d\u00a0Christoffersen said. \u201cWe are Los Angeles. We\u2019re a mix of different things, just like LA.\u201d<\/p>\n

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She credits multigenerational diners for keeping the restaurant afloat after the difficulties of pandemic closures and entertainment strikes in the past several years, noting that El Coyote used to be open seven days a week but had to reduce to five after the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have some centenarians that come in. People come here to celebrate, they come here to mourn,\u201d she said. \u201cThey come here for the memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

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She added: \u201cHow many restaurants do you see where people are hugging each other? No offense to\u00a0Disneyland<\/a>, because I do love Disneyland, but they\u2019re the second-happiest place on earth. We\u2019re the first.\u201d<\/p>\n

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When asked what else she\u2019s looking forward to,\u00a0Christoffersen\u2019s answer was simple: \u201cThe 100th anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n

El Coyote<\/a>, 7312 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles. Open Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday, noon-9\u00a0p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon-10 p.m.; closed Monday through Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The entrance of iconic Los Angeles\u00a0Mexican restaurant El Coyote is plastered with signed celebrity headshots representing a who\u2019s-who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49,2008,106625],"class_list":["post-324477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-sfgla","tag-sfglafood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}