Last week my Facebook feed lit up with the news that the Proud Bird Restaurant, an aviation-themed restaurant by Los Angeles International Airport for 48 years, will be closing effective November 21, 2013. Apparently they are closing because the landlords, Los Angeles World Airports, want to increase the rent to such an extent that the restaurant cannot afford to stay open. As the Proud Bird and I go back about 35 years and Tanya and I had been talking about going to a champagne brunch anyway, we decided that we would go for one last brunch at the Proud Bird yesterday since we already have plans for next week.
I could not count the number of brunches I have gone to at the Proud Bird as we used to get a group of friends to ride over there almost every Sunday for a few years. There was a pretty decent crowd yesterday, which I guess was the reason for the slower than usual service; or it could be that the employees know their time there is dwindling so there is not a lot of enthusiasm. After a couple glasses of champagne, the wait did not seem too bad and as least I could say we were there at the end.
The last champagne brunch at the Proud Bird will be Sunday November 17; if you want to be there for the last one, I recommend getting there early (they open at 9:00 AM) and stick around the hostess’ desk. They may tell you there is a 20 minute wait, but it will likely be shorter and if they call your name and you are not there, they will move on to the next party. The brunch is $38.00 for adults and $17.50 for children. They have a wide variety of foods available and the champagne is poured freely, so have a good time but drink responsibly. The Proud Bird Restaurant is located at 11022 Aviation Blvd in Los Angeles just north of Imperial Highway.
