One of Calif.’s hottest burger spots isn’t coming to SF any time soon

There are plenty of rumors, but no one knows why the founder of Original Tommy’s began slopping a heaping ladle of meaty chili on top of his cheeseburgers in 1946. Today, the highly caloric, very messy burger seems like the antithesis of Los Angeles, known in the public imagination for its obsession with health, or even its trendy, global food culture. But the chiliburger is woven into the fabric of LA’s humble food history, and this iconic institution is the only place to experience it.

“We are chili. Without our chili we are nothing. I will admit that,” Robert Auerbach, the stepson of Original Tommy’s founder Tom Koulax, said. “… I’ll be honest, you’ll either love it or you won’t.”

At the 77-year-old hamburger joint, almost every single menu item comes with a thick layer of the hearty, meat-heavy stew — burgers, hot dogs, fries, tamales; even the breakfast burrito gets some chili tucked inside. It might not be for everybody, Auerbach mentions at least five times during our conversation, but that hasn’t stopped his restaurant from becoming one of the most recognizable establishments in Southern California. 

On its own, the chili forms a layer of grease that pools on the sides as it sits. Chili powder and cumin dominate the flavor profile, while a kick of cayenne pepper gives it staying power, but isn’t overpowering for those averse to spice. That’s only a guess, anyway, as Tommy’s chili recipe is a secret honed over the years to stand out without totally overwhelming the burger itself. 

It’s made fresh every day in the restaurant in 90-gallon steel kettles, allowing the chili to steam cook to prevent burning. Cooks add 10 gallons of spice and a flour-and-water mix to a carrot base, cooking it “just like Goldilocks, until it’s just right” — not too thick and not too watery. The original location on Beverly Boulevard even has a giant, special steam boiler from the ’50s. Because of the vintage, specialized equipment, Auerbach says longtime customers that eat at other locations always say that this location tastes slightly different.

Auerbach admits the burger chain may not be where it is now without the signature chili. “That’s what we are built on. Otherwise, honestly, if you kick the chili off my burger, it’s good, but it’s just another burger, right?”

The humble stance on his family’s growing empire mirrors its beginnings. His stepfather, Tom Koulax, made his way out to California in the 1930s, fleeing Oklahoma in the midst of the Dust Bowl. The son of Greek immigrants, Koulax decided to start a hamburger stand on Beverly Boulevard and Rampart Boulevard with a business partner, putting chili on the burgers as a signature from Day 1. That business partner, known only by the first name Dan, quit after three months.

“Tom said, ‘Here’s your money,’ bought him out and created an empire,” Auerbach said. 

The store puttered along until a chance incident in the 1950s changed its fate, giving it the boost it needed to rise above other local burger stores. After a car crash in the intersection, local TV station KTLA came to report on the scene, and at some point, the reporter decided he was hungry. He would go on to mention how good the burger was during his broadcast. A photo of him eating the burger still hangs at many Tommy’s locations. 

People started to seek out the stand, and business grew to the point where Koulax was able to buy the land the original shack stood on, as well as an auto shop behind it. He’d eventually buy up all four corners of the intersection and renovate the auto shop into a second food counter. 

By the 1970s, Tommy’s was ripe for expansion; five more Tommy’s opened up before the decade was over. The growth didn’t stop there, though, and there are now 29 Tommy’s locations across Southern California and three in Nevada, all still family-owned. Arizona could be next.

“There has been talk of franchising, but my dad did not franchise for a reason,” Auerbach said. “This is his baby and franchising takes [that] away.”

Auerbach would later go on to tease that franchises might be coming in the future, but simultaneously complained about how they lead to mismanagement and a lower quality product without control. 

While the decision to franchise remains up in the air, and despite the prevalence (and popularity) of Tommy’s across Southern California, don’t expect a Northern California location anytime soon. Auerbach was born in San Francisco, and said while he enjoys visiting, there are no current plans to expand Tommy’s into the Bay Area.

“You never know,” he said with a shrug. “I tell you what, we got our hands full right now. It’s not easy running these stores.”

The past few years especially haven’t been easy, amid a nationwide labor shortage and rising food prices, but Auerbach said Tommy’s is lucky it has multiple workers who have been with the company for decades. “My dad said this — and you may quote him: ‘I want to take care of my customers. I want to give them a fresh hot product. I want to give it to him at a decent price and I want to give it to him in a reasonable time.’”

He said those are the principles the family guides Tommy’s by. Auerbach is not the owner of Tommy’s — he reiterates that several times, emphasizing that there’s a whole corporate team, largely family members, who oversee the company. Soon, he won’t have the say he’s used to either, and he said he’s OK with that. Auerbach has set his retirement date for June 4, 2024, exactly 40 years from when he first started working at Tommy’s. 

It’s unclear who will take over as the unofficial “voice” of the brand, but it probably won’t be someone else in his family.

Whoever takes over will spend a lot of time defending the brand against its many imposters — by one count, at least 67 —  that proliferate in the state. He says to always look for the trademarked shack out front and the cursive, which also has its own trademark. He said the company also just got the federal trademark last year after a long court battle, though the owners aren’t planning on wasting time with lawsuits that suck up time and money. Most importantly, no one is making his exact product.

“More power to you if you want to copy me,” he said. “But I know you’re not going to spend the money to make the chili the way I make it. … You’re going to buy a cheaper patty. I know you’re not going to because you’re knocking me off right off the bat. You don’t even have any originality.”

Other than the secret chili recipe, the makeup of a Tommy burger isn’t hidden. The just-over-2-ounce steer patty comes topped with mustard, pickle chips, a slice of tomato, onions, sharp American cheese and, of course, the chili, on a Puritan Bakery bun (the same bun In-N-Out uses, as well as other local favorite Lucky Boy).

“That flavor profile is so unique,” he said, emphasizing again that the flavor can be a bit divisive “… It’s a little bit spicy, a little bit greasy.”

The French’s yellow mustard is cut with some pickle juice to give it the restaurant’s own twist, adding a bit more acid to fight through all that meat. Auerbach said the hot dogs, chili cheese fries and tamales are popular, too, but nothing compares to the double chili cheeseburger, the all-time bestseller.

It’s easy to make a comparison to the state’s unofficial burger royalty, In-N-Out, but Auerbach is quick to point out how different the chains are from each other. Tommy’s uses frozen french fries, which he proudly says leads to a better product (I’d have to agree), and there’s chili on everything. There’s a “California burger” on Tommy’s menu (the only one offered without chili), which is comparable to In-N-Out only for the fact they use the same size patties and brand of buns, but that’s about it. There’s no bad blood, though. Auerbach takes time to praise the other chain’s rise through the years, though, commending In-N-Out ability to maintain quality and consistency across so many locations as another family run business without franchises.

The original location of Tommy’s on Beverly Boulevard still has the highest revenue of all, though it’s also one of the few that’s still open 24 hours. The lunch and dinner rushes are always steady at both the “shack” and the auto shop-turned-lunch counter that operate simultaneously during peak times. Auerbach said for many it’s all about nostalgia — eating at the same place they ate when they were kids. They make more than 400 burgers a day, the manager estimates, and go through nearly 100 gallons of chili on a weekday and about 120 gallons each on Saturdays and Sundays.

Everyone from blue-collar workers to celebrities visit Tommy’s, but Auerbach’s favorite story was a time when Elizabeth Taylor showed up during a dinner rush. Her driver tried to cut the line to get her a double chiliburger, but even the Hollywood legend didn’t get any special treatment — Tommy’s workers made them go to the back of the line, and 30 minutes later, she got her food like everyone else.

It’s a popular spot for modern Hollywood as well, Auerbach said, featured in movies like 2006’s “Grandma’s Boy.” Quentin Tarantino bought out the whole place to spend almost 12 hours filming at the original location for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Auerbach added, even though Tarantino didn’t use any of it. 

Auerbach loves how popular the restaurant is, and the company continues to celebrate its longevity with every year. When the chain hits 80 in just a few years, management plans to celebrate with 80-cent cheeseburgers and invite the USC marching band to entertain guests while they wait in what will inevitably be a long line. They’ll likely limit orders to 10 per customer, though, as Auerbach isn’t eager to repeat the disastrous day they celebrated their 73rd anniversary with 73-cent cheeseburgers: “Biggest mistake of our life. It was stupid. We weren’t ready. We got hammered and we will never do that again.”

Even without Auerbach’s help, the company will continue to learn from its mistakes, he said, and be ready for next 80 years.

“We have such a niche,” he said. “Nobody does chili like us. I defy you to bring me anywhere close.”