A longtime Hollywood restaurant is about to close and it appears one of the more controversial figures in the world may be moving his company in.
Shakey’s in Hollywood is set to close Tuesday and Tesla, led by Elon Musk, has filed plans with the city of Los Angeles to move in with a first-of-its-kind 24-hour diner with electric vehicle charging station and a drive-in movie theater.
But they won’t show movies here. Tesla says, if approved, they’ll put two movie screens on the property, which will show 30-minute features — about the same amount of time is takes to charge an electric vehicle.
In 2018, Musk had tweeted about his hope to put in an old school drive-in, rollerskating-and-rock restaurant at a Tesla supercharger location in LA.
Well now it seems his dream may be coming true.
A spokesperson for Shakey's told NBC4 that they didn’t want to leave but their owner sold the property on Santa Monica Boulevard, their lease was terminated and now the pizza place will close on Tuesday after more than 50 years.
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Alex Massachi, whose family owns the land, said they were "approached unsolicited by Tesla" and agreed to sell.
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"It’s great. It’s going to definitely enhance the area. I have another project under construction just across the street. Aune is also under construction and if I’m not going to develop this I’m happy that Tesla is taking it over," Massachi said. "We don’t like to sell but we’re excited about the project and the prospects."
The news was met with mixed reactions from locals, with some expressing sadness about the closing of a neighborhood staple, while others expressed contempt for Musk.
"I’m really truly going to miss this restaurant," said Christine Mendez, a Shakey's customer who has been eating there since she was a kid.
Gabriel Silva has lived in Los Angeles his entire life and regularly ate at Shakey’s for lunch. He said he is OK with the closure.
"It’s a great location, it’s a great restaurant, it’s been here for decades, but I think change is better," Silva said.
As for Shakey’s employees have the option to transfer after they close on Tuesday.
