page_title: Original Tommy's
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Original Tommy's / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Chili Cheese Fries from the original Tommy's location, on Beverly &amp; Rampart in Los Angeles, California.
context_page_description: Original Tommy's is a hamburger restaurant chain in Southern California, United States. It is known for its chili burgers.
context_section_description: The original location was opened on May 15, 1946, by Tom Koulax  (October 26, 1918 - May 28, 1992), the son of Greek immigrants, on the northeast corner of Beverly and Rampart boulevards west of downtown Los Angeles. The stand, which still exists today, sold hamburgers and hot dogs topped with chili. At first business was slow, but it soon started to pick up.  During the 1960s, the entire lot at this intersection was purchased. Soon after, the northwest corner was acquired for expanded parking and storage of goods. Not long after that, a second service counter occupying the building at the perimeter of the northeast lot was set up. The food was essentially the same from both locations, except for longer lines at the original shack counter, perhaps for nostalgic reasons.
  Tommy's grew to 30 locations by 2006. Most Original Tommy's restaurants are found in the Greater Los Angeles Area. In recent years several locations have closed. The Santa Monica location was closed on April 20, 2014 when the landlord refused to renew the lease and leased the location to Starbucks instead.
  In 2008, the company expanded for the first time outside of California by opening two locations in Clark County, Nevada. A third Nevada location was opened in 2013.
  As of October 2019, there are 33 locations. The company is based in Monrovia, California, after years of being in Glendale, California, and is run by the late Mr. Koulax's family.
caption: Chili Cheese Fries, served at the original location (note: cheese is served under the chili).
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