LA’s Famous Apple Pan Delivers Burgers and Pie for First Time in 73-Year History

There have been glimpses of good news in a sea of culinary darkness this past week, from restaurants that are feeding LAUSD children home from school, to one tiny restaurant’s decision to close as a way to literally keep the family alive. Now today comes a very big moment: the Apple Pan, one of LA’s most beloved culinary icons, is doing delivery for the first time in its 73-year history.

Reps for the Azoff Restaurant Group, which bought iconic restaurants Nate N’ Al and the Apple Pan last year, say that Apple Pan should be operational on delivery platform Postmates by Thursday. The full menu will be available for delivery and takeout, from fries and pies to the classic hickoryburger with its smoky-sweet sauce. The full, classic menu is shown below; hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., a shift from its normal late night hours. That also means that, for the first time ever, the Apple Pan will also accept credit and debit card payments for food instead of just cash.

Owners Shelli and Irving Azoff agreed to buy the Apple Pan in 2019 as a way to make sure the restaurant remained for decades to come. They promised at the time to make minimal changes to the place, and have so far stuck to that vision, adding only a lightly-used Instagram account and doing a retro clothing collaboration for fans.

The decision to offer delivery comes at an extraordinary time for restaurants across the country. Just today California Governor Gavin Newsom directed restaurants to stop offering dine-in eating in the wake of the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, many restaurants around Los Angeles have transitioned to a takeout and delivery-only model, not just as a way to feed the immediate community but as a lifeline for the many thousands of restaurant workers who make up 11% of the California workforce, and rely on continuing income to make ends meet.

• How Coronavirus Is Impacting LA’s Food World [ELA]