Original Tommy’s

Original Tommy’s is a Southern California burger chain built around a single ingredient: its beef chili. The chain has served chili cheeseburgers since 1946, and almost every item on the menu, from the burgers to the tamales, comes topped with that chili.

About Original Tommy’s

Original Tommy’s is a privately held fast food chain headquartered in Monrovia, California. It runs locations across Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, along with a few restaurants in Las Vegas. The company has never franchised. Management has said that franchising would make quality control harder, so any growth happens through company-owned locations in California, Nevada and Arizona.

The restaurants run on counter service with no waiters. You order, pay and pick up your food at the same counter, and staff prepare each item to order while you watch. Many locations stay open 24 hours. The original Los Angeles stand has no tables or chairs. Customers eat standing at counters along the building, the same way they did in the 1940s. Paper towels replace napkins at every location.

The chain also runs a catering truck called Shack on Wheels for birthdays, corporate events and fundraisers. Online ordering is available through the Original Tommy’s app on iOS and Android.

Its success has attracted many imitators. A 2019 Los Angeles Times count found 67 lookalike restaurants in the LA region with similar names, signs and menus. That’s more than twice the number of real Original Tommy’s locations. The company tells customers to look for the small shack in its logo to identify a genuine location.

History of Original Tommy’s

Tom Koulax, the son of Greek immigrants, opened the first Original Tommy’s on May 15, 1946. He built it as a small stand on the northeast corner of Beverly and Rampart Boulevards, west of downtown Los Angeles. Business grew slowly at first. By the mid-1950s the stand had a steady following among LA burger fans, most of it built through word of mouth.

In the 1960s Koulax bought the rest of the corner lot and added a second serving station to handle the lines. The chain opened five new restaurants during the 1970s, and more followed across Southern California and into Nevada over the next few decades. Koulax died in 1992. His family, including his stepson Bob Auerbach, has stayed involved with the business.

The original stand at Beverly and Rampart still operates. It draws tourist groups, USC students and fans coming from Dodger Stadium and nearby arenas.

Original Tommy’s Menu

The menu stays short on purpose, which keeps lines moving quickly. Burgers come with chili, a slice of cheese, mustard, chopped onions, pickles and a hand-sliced beefsteak tomato. You can ask for extra chili, onions, tomato or mustard at no charge.

Burgers: Chili Cheeseburger (single, double or triple), Quarter-Pound Chili Cheeseburger, Caliente Chili Burger, and the California Classic, which skips the chili and uses Thousand Island dressing and lettuce instead
More favorites: Chili Cheese Dog and Chili Tamale
Fries: plain fries and Chili Cheese Fries
Breakfast: an egg and sausage Breakfast Sandwich and a Breakfast Burrito, which also comes with chili inside

Prices vary by location and by delivery platform. The posts below cover current Original Tommy’s prices, individual menu items, nutrition and deals.

You can check the full Original Tommy’s menu with prices on our website.

Original Tommy’s Timings

Hours vary by location. Most Original Tommy’s restaurants open between 7am and 9am and close between 11pm and 2am. Many stay open an hour later on Friday and Saturday nights.

Two California locations are open 24 hours a day:

Los Angeles (the original stand), 2575 West Beverly Blvd
North Hills, 15745 Roscoe Blvd

The latest regular hours are at Canoga Park, Eagle Rock, Hollywood, Huntington Park, Valencia and Van Nuys. These open at 7am or 8am and stay open until 3am on weekends. The earliest closing times, 11pm daily, are at Lake Forest, Simi Valley, Tujunga and all three Nevada locations.

At many restaurants the lobby closes before the drive-thru, usually around midnight, so late orders go through the drive-thru window. Breakfast items are on the menu from opening. Check the hours for your specific location before you go, since they change by store and by day.

Original Tommy’s Locations

Original Tommy’s lists 32 locations: 29 in Southern California and 3 in the Las Vegas area. Every one is company-owned.

Los Angeles area: Los Angeles (original), Hollywood, Eagle Rock, Burbank, North Hills, Van Nuys, Canoga Park, Tujunga, Valencia, Palmdale, Monrovia, El Monte, City of Industry, Huntington Park, Pico Rivera, Norwalk, Long Beach and North Hollywood (temporarily closed)
Orange County: Fountain Valley, La Habra, Lake Forest, Westminster
Inland Empire: Chino, Montclair, Corona, Riverside, Barstow
Ventura County: Ventura, Simi Valley
Nevada: Henderson and two Las Vegas locations (Boulder Highway and W. Craig Rd)

Order Original Tommy’s Online

You can order Original Tommy’s for delivery or pickup through its own app and several third-party delivery platforms. Menu prices on delivery apps are often higher than in-store prices, and prices can also differ between delivery and pickup.

Original Tommy’s App (iOS): the official app, with pickup and delivery ordering
Original Tommy’s App (Android)
DoorDash: delivery and takeout from most California locations. Enter your address to find the nearest store.
Uber Eats: delivery and scheduled orders, with pickup at participating locations
Grubhub: delivery and takeout from selected locations
Official ordering page: Tommy’s own list of current delivery partners

Delivery availability depends on your address and the location’s hours. The 24-hour stores in Los Angeles and North Hills are the only ones that can take late-night orders after 3am.

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