The start of a literary journey: writing and designing a book about the Sunset Grill

For four decades, my grandparents ran a beloved hamburger stand in Hollywood. Today, I'm collecting the memories and stories of diners and fans of Joe's.

Eva Reich, my grandmother, working behind the counter at the Sunset Grill. Photo by Michael Frohlich.

Welcome to the first blog post about the Sunset Grill book! I plan to publish quarterly blogs about the production of this book, with interesting tidbits from interviews and photos from the past and present.

Who I interviewed this quarter

1. L.K.

In January, I met L.K. for the first interview and left feeling hungry for the chili cheese hamburgers we talked about. L.K. also shared less-talked-about perspectives on how hard-working Joe and Eva's children were, and how much they contributed to the restaurant.

2. S.L.B

The following month, I interviewed S.L.B. at another popular, historic location in LA --- The Original Farmers Market. We then drove over to Sunset Boulevard and did a mini photoshoot around the area where the Sunset Grill once stood. Mojo (pictured below) was not willing to be left out of the photo.

S.L.B. and his dog Mojo outside the flagship store of Guitar Center, on Sunset Boulevard next to the original location of The Sunset Grill, in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 13, 2026. Photo by Raquel G. Frohlich.

3. J.H.

In early March, I was fortunate to virtually meet with someone who experienced the Sunset Grill and the surrounding area in all its eras --- from the 1960s to the 1990s. Since the early 2000s, J.H. and his friends have enjoyed "Sunset Grill days" using cooking techniques and recipes tracked down by a friend who was on a mission to recreate Joe's double chili cheese burger.

"I asked him, I said, 'Joe, why don't you get some people in to help so you can take the day off?' He goes, 'Oh no, I can't trust anybody. This is what I do. This is what I love.' He loved doing that. It was his life." – J.H.

4. M.F.

In mid-March, M.F. and I met virtually to talk about his experience interviewing Don Henley over lunch at the Sunset Grill 42 years ago, and their brief but humorous interaction with Joe and Eva. We also discussed the meanings and themes of songs in the 1984 album, "Building the Perfect Beast," and how the spirit of Sunset Boulevard has changed over the years.

5. A.L.

A few hours after the previous interview, I met with A.L., who shared stories and photographs for a good couple hours. From this meeting, I got a whole new perspective of the Sunset Grill --- a nighttime, punk-rocker hangout spot for youth in Hollywood.

"During the day, early evening in Hollywood, it was an eating crowd. Later on, the club kids came out. They didn't like us in a lot of places because they would cause trouble or dine and dash, but at the Sunset Grill, nobody ever messed with your grandparents." – A.L.

A.L. holds up a dapper-looking photo from his modeling days, in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 14, 2026. Photo by Raquel G. Frohlich.

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A field trip to the Los Angeles County archives

In mid-March, I took a quick trip south to Norwalk to view property records dating back to 1958. I took photos of dozens of documents mentioning Israel/Joe and Eva Froehlich, and the address 7439 W. Sunset Blvd., but still need to piece them together and decide what info is relevant and interesting enough to pull from the documents.

Shoutout to the staff at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk office's Real Estate Records Copies & Search department, as well as those working the phones at the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office, for being so helpful!

A machine to view microfiche at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, in Norwalk, Calif., on March 17, 2026. Photo by Raquel G. Frohlich. I didn't find the info I was looking for on this specific microfiche, but it was still a great learning experience!

How's the writing going?

The short narratives are coming together nicely, though I do need to double down on my historical research and find more impactful tidbits to drop into different pages.

And the book design?

The first page I worked on was the back cover. I had a vision in mind, and simply could not rest until a draft of that vision was brought to life.

I created a color palette by opening various photos of the Sunset Grill in Photoshop and using the eyedropper tool to pull out reds, greens and blues. Once I had hex codes for the colors, I put them into Adobe Color to make a simple visual graphic for reference. The best shade of the medium red color was the most difficult to narrow down, and took some trial and error.

The next elements to start working on include fonts and text sizing. At the moment, I'm using Blurb to design the book and will be limited by what's available in their software.

Got any questions?

Drop questions in the comments below or send me an email at raquelgfrohlich@gmail and I'll work to answer them all in the next blog post.

Want to share a memory about the Sunset Grill, or know someone who does?

I'd love to hear from you --- feel free to get in touch!