Latest news with #Elwell
Los Angeles Times
a day ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
‘This is not Burger King.' Bill Elwell, who flipped patties at a beloved L.A. shack since 1965, dies at 98
William 'Bill' Elwell, the humorous and occasionally ornery owner of a legendary burger shack in the San Fernando Valley, has died at 98, prompting an outpouring of admiration and memories from burger aficionados and restaurateurs who were inspired by him. Elwell, who founded the Van Nuys burger stand Bill's Burgers in 1965 and worked there continuously for 60 years, died on July 21. Over the course of decades, he became as much of a draw as the burgers themselves. Elwell seasoned and seared beef patties on his stand's original griddle, which he believed dated back to the 1920s. Characterized as 'gruff,' 'cranky' and 'grumpy,' he proudly ran the 10-by-20-foot stand with strict rules (cash only, no substitutions), and he could often be found ribbing his customers. 'Is McDonald's closed today?' he'd regularly yell. 'Why is everyone here? Go down the street!' Another signature phrase sits at both the top and bottom of the menu: 'You can't have it your way, this is not Burger King.' Allen Yelent, owner of local burger chain Goldburger and a Bill's customer since childhood, said Elwell embodied the best entrepreneurial spirit of the Valley. 'Bill's, for me, represents what I love about small business and what makes small business really beautiful in L.A.: the same person cooking the burgers literally every single day,' Yelent said. 'Everyone can say they got a burger from Bill.' Sandwiched among tire shops, lighting stores and factories, Elwell's shack fed the Valley's industrial workers just as readily as food lovers who'd make a visit to Bill's a burger pilgrimage. Yelent, a San Fernando Valley native and resident, said Elwell epitomized the 'absolute worker mentality, worker ethic of the Valley that I grew up in.' William Clement Elwell was born in Ventura on Nov. 23, 1926. He served in World War II and worked in a variety of trades, including as a cab driver and at a linen company. He purchased the Van Nuys stand for $2,500 in 1965, before the block's sidewalks were even paved and only a dirt path led to the building. Elwell and Bill's Burgers saw innumerable changes through the decades. At one point the stand was called Bill & Hiroko's, named for Elwell and his then-partner, Hiroko Wilcox, whom he'd met while bowling. She worked the burger shack with him alongside one of his five ex-wives, Sharon Elwell. Bill Elwell told The Times in 2014 that one of his exes quipped: 'We get along fine. It's him we can't stand.' According to an obituary written by his family, which was published in the Ventura County Star, the burger icon is survived by his son, James Elwell, and his daughter, Charlene Morris, along with eight grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, three great-great grandchildren and multiple nieces and nephews. On Tuesday morning, the first full day of business since the news of Elwell's passing spread widely over social media, Henry McComas was the first customer in line. The filmmaker moved nearby six years ago and visits the restaurant at least once a week, he said, often on his walks through the neighborhood. 'The first time I met Bill, he was very busy over the grill, and such a professional and so focused that you didn't know if you could talk to him,' McComas said. 'He came up to me and started a conversation, telling me how great his burgers were, but he took a raw patty and some of the beef and ate it in front of me and said, 'This is how good the meat is.' 'And I was hooked ever since.' On Sunday, when McComas heard of Elwell's death, he made a point of visiting Tuesday morning right as the restaurant opened, thanking the staff for their continuation of the business. He wants Bill's Burgers to continue for years to come. 'Bill's legacy means so much to the Valley,' McCormas said. 'It really is a staple. My hope is if the family wants to continue the business that they do, because we'll be here for their burgers.' The legendary burger man occasionally threatened retirement or selling the business, as he told The Times he'd considered in 2020 during the pandemic. But said he hoped that even if he did, Bill's Burgers would continue without him. One staff member told The Times that they would like to personally continue the restaurant in Elwell's honor. Yelent of Goldburger previously ran an Instagram account dedicated to posting burgers he'd enjoyed. The very first picture was of Bill's. Dated Aug. 12, 2014, he captioned it, 'Bill and Hiroko are inspirations.' They remained an inspiration as Yelent grew his empire from a pop-up to multiple stands. 'They worked super hard,' he said of the duo. 'They touched their product every single day. They were always completely and utterly devoted to what they were doing, and the city responded well. I want to have even a small fraction of the legacy that Bill's created in L.A. ' Yelent, who grew up in Chatsworth, found himself at Bill's Burgers multiple times during childhood, especially through the stretch of years his father operated a TV repair shop nearby. In adulthood, he rediscovered it and found Bill's to be even more inspiring than his earliest memories of it. More recently he'd found one of Elwell's grandsons working at the burger stand, taking orders at the window while Elwell still manned the flat-top grill. Heavy Handed owners Max Miller and Danny Gordon also grew up in the San Fernando Valley and frequented Bill's Burgers. As they began their own burger business, they turned to some of the restaurants that shaped not only their own tastes but the region that raised them. Bill's, they said, represented 'frozen-in-time Valley spots' and 'a taste of what the San Fernando Valley was' before they were born. 'He was really one of the last to do food in his own unapologetic way and stick to his guns when it comes to how he serves, how he runs his business and how he operates personally within the space,' said Miller. Miller, who attended high school in Van Nuys, would often vie for one of the coveted counter seats overlooking the grill. Both have tried to emulate Elwell's 'quiet showmanship,' most often seen through him slapping American cheese onto the patties, as if casually but accurately flinging a playing card from a deck of them. 'To me, it's sort of the West Coast version of Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn: the old man going at his own pace, not really giving you the time,' said Gordon. 'He was just doing his thing, and you're there for that experience. It's a kind of restaurant that you don't see many of anymore. It's definitely a bummer to lose [Elwell]; he was a legend.' Like Yelent, Colin Fahrner also ran a burger Instagram account before launching his own restaurant, but he never posted a photo of Bill's — probably, he said, because his visit predated the social media account entirely. It was, Fahrner said, the kind of old-school L.A. burger operation that inspired him to launch his restaurant, Yellow Paper Burger, though Bill's perfectly griddled burgers come wrapped in white. 'There's other places that do it, but I feel like he really stuck to it for the long haul,' he said of Elwell. 'I think it's also a reminder: All these legacy places are closing. Don't wait to go to these spots, because they can close any day or the owner can pass away, or whatever might happen … Now is the time. These places are not going to be here forever.'
Eater
3 days ago
- General
- Eater
Bill Elwell, Legendary Owner of Los Angeles Roadside Stand Bill's Burgers, Dies at 98
Bill Elwell, the owner of legendary San Fernando Valley burger stand Bill's Burgers, died on July 21 at 98 years old. Even late into his 90s, Elwell could be seen manning the flattop grill at his Van Nuys (eventually rezoned to Sherman Oaks) burger stand, flipping chargrilled patties as the line stretched away from its ordering window, down Oxnard Street. Elwell was born in 1926 and raised in the west Ventura neighborhood of Tortilla Flats. Before opening Bill's Burgers, he was in the Army during World War II, worked as a late-night taxi driver, and was a manager at Mission Linen Company. In 1965, Elwell purchased the burger stand that would become Bill's Burgers, which sat on the plot right next door to his job at the time. For the nearly six decades following, Elwell was constantly at the burger stand, serving well-seasoned patties topped with American cheese, iceberg lettuce, freshly sliced tomatoes, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. The flatop grill, still in use at the stand, dates back to the 1920s or 1930s. Elwell sourced the meat locally from Northridge, and it was ground fresh every morning. Legend has it that he was even spotted eating the patties raw if customers complained about them not being cooked enough. A line on the top of the menu read, 'You can't have it your way, this is not Burger King,' adding to the stand's dry humor. For some time, Elwell ran the stand as Bill & Hiroko's with his now ex-wife, Hiroko Wilcox, whom he met at a bowling alley decades ago. In a 2014 Los Angeles Times article, Elwell mentioned that another of his five ex-wives, Sharon Elwell, still came to the stand to help out a few times a week. At some point, Elwell renamed the stand back to Bill's Burgers, where it weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, and Elwell was still in the back flipping burgers. In July 2020, Elwell attempted to sell the business, but no sale ever materialized. As burger trends came and went in Los Angeles, from the crispy-edged smash burgers to thick bistro burgers, Bill's remained the same — a testament to Elwell himself and his longtime customers who kept coming back. In recent years, Elwell's age and consistent ownership have become a story in their own right. Eater LA conducted the first-ever interview on the burger man in 2013 at the age of 86. Over a decade later, virtually nothing had changed in the cash-only business except for the prices, even in the face of rising inflation. In 2011, a basic cheeseburger cost $3.35; by 2018, it had increased to $4.20, and by May 2025, it had risen to just $7. Though often gruff and other times grumpy, Elwell's straightforward persona as perhaps the oldest living burger cook in the country continued without greater coverage from national media. 'Whichever way I make the burger, that's the best way,' Elwell told Eater LA in 2013. 'But I like when people get double cheeseburgers with everything. That's what I'm famous for, I think.' Elwell is survived by his son James Elwell (Valerie) and daughter Charlene Morris, along with his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. A cheeseburger from BIll's Burgers in Los Angeles. Farley Elliott Eater LA All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rehmann broadens Ohio footprint with Martinet Recchia merger
Rehmann, a US-based professional advisory firm, has announced business combination with Martinet Recchia, a Ohio-based family-owned CPA firm. Martinet Recchia provides tax and business consulting services to industries including construction, manufacturing and distribution, restaurant and hospitality, and professional services. Martinet Recchia, established in 1955 by Thomas and Richard Martinet, has been a family-owned business with Richard's son Keith Martinet still on board as a shareholder. Managing shareholder Joseph Recchia, who joined the firm in 1998, will also remain, along with all other shareholders and staff members, said Rehmann in a press statement. Rehmann CEO Stacie Kwaiser said: 'We're thrilled about this mutually beneficial business combination and what it means for our clients and their organisations. 'Both firms share similar cultural values and philosophies related to client service, striving to be good community partners, and supporting the areas in which our associates live and work. The added expertise and capacity on both sides will allow us to continue maximising client potential in Ohio and beyond.' Rehmann, which already operates an office in Toledo, Ohio, stated that Martinet Recchia will remain at its current location and operate under the Rehmann brand. Recchia said: 'Combining with Rehmann offers more professional development opportunities for our associates who want to advance in their careers. 'We're always looking for ways to better serve our clients, and this combination gives us increased capacity and broader services in a competitive market. It will still be our associates on the end of the phone offering the same quality service, but now we're one team serving clients in the Cleveland area.' In March 2025, Rehmann unveiled plans to combine with CPA firm Kmetz, Elwell, Graham & Associates (KEGA). Rehmann offers accounting and assurance, business solutions and outsourcing, specialised consulting, and wealth management services. The firm operates across Michigan, Ohio, and Florida, with more than 1,100 associates. "Rehmann broadens Ohio footprint with Martinet Recchia merger" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
