Anthony Bourdain Loved This Old-School California Diner, But It's In Danger Of Shutting Down

Throughout his renowned culinary career, Anthony Bourdain championed thousands of restaurants around the world. Although not all of his favorite restaurants made it onto shows like "Parts Unknown" and "No Reservations," there were many that he praised or spoke of fondly in interviews. One such restaurant is Burbank's Chili John's. "Josh Homme [from Queens of the Stone Age] turned me on to it," Bourdain, who admittedly had a soft spot for "ugly" food, once told Thrillist. "It was awesome. (...) It's really cheap thrills. Delicious, about as not-fancy as you get."

Chili John's has been a staple of Burbank for almost 80 years and is actually the oldest restaurant in the city. It originated as a bar in Green Bay, Wisconsin, that was opened by John Isaac in 1913 after he immigrated from Lithuania. One of the most popular dishes served at the bar was Southwestern chili served over spaghetti, a dish very similar to Cincinnati's famous Skyline Chili, which Bourdain once called "America on your plate." Eventually Isaac renamed the bar Chili John's. When his son Ernie moved to California in 1946, he opened the restaurant's second location in Burbank.

The restaurant has even appeared on the big (and small) screen. You might recognize its distinctive U-shaped counter and red leather stools from "Twin Peaks: The Return," "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," or an episode of "Restaurant Recovery." Its menu is famous for its chili, served over spaghetti or rice and garnished with shredded cheese, onions, sour cream, and oyster crackers.

Unfortunately, the original Chili John's location in Green Bay has been closed since 2020, and its Burbank location is also in danger of shutting down as well. The restaurant is now owned by Steve and Claudine Hager, a husband-and-wife team who took over the business in 2019. The Burbank staple is facing a decline in sales due to fewer Hollywood productions in the area.

Chili John's proximity to Hollywood studios once meant the restaurant was always busy, and it was even one of Walt Disney's favorite LA restaurants. While it used to have lines of hungry diners stretching out the door and down Burbank Boulevard, things have really slowed down lately due to fewer and fewer projects being filmed in the area. If things don't pick up, the Hagers believe that they will have to close the restaurant for good.

Over the years, the restaurant has remained faithful to founder Isaac's 130-year-old classic chili recipe, which takes over 24 hours to make. The restaurant also serves a lemon icebox pie made from the same 1900s recipe that Isaac used in his Green Bay bar. While the Hagers opened The Taproom at Chili John's in a last-ditch effort to turn things around, they are still only making significantly less than what they used to bring in before the pandemic. In March 2025, they launched a GoFundMe campaign, and in May, they promoted David Lynch Day, as the restaurant is one of several memorable filming locations from Lynch films and TV shows. Here's hoping they find success.