The success of the little café has led Aragon to plan a second location at 6720 San Fernando Road, just four blocks north of the original café, which he plans to continue operating. He has worked with owner Shahid Mardeross, members of the Los Angeles Conservancy and Glendale Historical Society to restore the old Stardust Café, a landmark Glendale business used in numerous films and famous for its Googie architecture.
"We are actually putting back a lot of the original architectural features of the building, though the interior is still going to feature my own decorating style," said Aragon of the new building, a 1950s-era modernist structure with a boomerang roof and vast windows. He plans to open at the new location by mid-June.
Besides offering ungraded amenities such as outdoor seating and disabled access, the new Patrick's location will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. The new menu will include morning fare such as frittatas and scrambles; sandwiches made with seared ahi, smoked turkey breast and grilled Japanese eggplant; original burgers such as the chicken jalapeño sausage burger; and a variety of pastas, salads and pizzas.
With former Anandale Country Club chef Gunther Friedman manning the kitchen, Aragon hopes his new location will become as much of an oasis as his original café.
"I am one of the few that took a risk on San Fernando Road when everything was so bad here," he said. "A year ago there was a lot of road construction that killed a lot of merchants, and we survived that. And today we are a hangout not just for the studios, but for the surrounding neighborhoods as well."
