{"id":444443,"date":"2026-08-26T21:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T21:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/444443\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T21:50:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T21:50:10","slug":"inside-dolly-partons-favorite-los-angeles-restaurant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/444443\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Dolly Parton\u2019s Favorite Los Angeles Restaurant"},"content":{"rendered":"

The world is in mourning for recording artist, philanthropist, and icon Dolly Parton<\/a>, who died on Wednesday, August 25, at 80 years old. Los Angeles also has an intimate restaurant connection with the Tennessee-born singer, who always made a stop at Silver Lake\u2019s El Chavo<\/a>. Though the Mexican restaurant closed in 2015<\/a>, Parton was a regular for many years; on each visit she would order the same dish \u2014 green corn tamales.<\/p>\n

Justine Hernandez, owner of Frogtown\u2019s Just What I Kneaded<\/a> and Justine\u2019s Wine Bar<\/a>, worked as a bartender at El Chavo between 2010 and 2015. When she first started, management mentioned that Parton was a regular presence. \u201cThey told me, \u2018Oh yeah, she comes here. Just wait. You\u2019re going to see her.\u2019 She used to come in and get the green corn tamales. She was obsessed with those. We would make a batch anytime she would perform in L.A.,\u201d says Hernandez.<\/p>\n

Hernandez says Parton was good friends with El Chavo\u2019s original owner Ricardo De La Garza, who opened the restaurant in 1966. Over repeat visits, Parton arrived without an entourage wearing full glam makeup, high heels, and even higher hair. Parton came to know much of the longtime El Chavo staff and even remembered their names. Hernandez recalls, \u201cWhen somebody asked to take a picture with her, she always said, \u2018Of course, darlin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

El Chavo eventually became home to a shrine to Parton with a painting, photos, and memorabilia sourced by De La Garza that sat in the corner bar next to the neon-colored sombreros hanging from the ceiling. The restaurant even hosted a queer game night<\/a> in Parton\u2019s honor.<\/p>\n

Parton had a decades-long relationship<\/a> with California. She owned a property in Solvang from 2004 to 2014, complete with a wig room and a stained-glass window bearing her name and butterfly motif, reports the Desert Sun<\/a>, along with a cabin in Idyllwild with a guitar-shaped toilet, according to the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a>. SF Gate<\/a> writes that Parton\u2019s time in Los Angeles inspired her to open Dollywood<\/a>, her Tennessee theme park. In the evening hours, the Santa Monica Pier was lit<\/a> in Parton\u2019s signature pink on the day of her death.<\/p>\n

\u201cDolly was very sweet to everyone,\u201d says Hernandez. \u201cCertain people have a sparkle around them. She radiated energy you felt immediately: that she loved you even though she didn\u2019t know you. The first time I saw her come in, everyone was whispering, \u2018She\u2019s here!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n