Work Begins to Restore Historic Idle Hour Cafe

After nearly 30 years of being left virtually untouched, work has finally begun to restore the Idle Hour Cafe to its former glory.

The eye-catching, barrel-shaped structure on Vineland Avenue was purchased a few years ago by 1933 Group, which has now hired Wadeco Design as the project's contractor. Sonny's Hideaway in Highland Park and the Silverlake Conservatory of Music are some efforts Wadeco has to its name.

Neither company returned calls for a comment on how long the restoration would take, but things are already underway as it's tough to miss the sound of power tools when walking by the property.

Wadeco has already posted a photo gallery of the restoration in progress. There's many interesting pictures including one of an old emergency contact list noting Joel Wachs as the current city councilman. He served from 1971-01.

The Idle Hour Cafe opened in 1941 and later became La Cana. It's been shuttered since 1984.

As for the graffiti on the former restaurant's outdoor barrier, no word on whether that's been reported.

We'll keep you posted on the project's progress as more details become available.