Tiny Naylor's was a restaurant chain in Southern California started in 1949 by William Wallace "Tiny" Naylor and later run by his son Biff Naylor. W.W. Naylor had previously owned more than a dozen Tiny's Waffle Shops in Central California.[1] Naylor moved to Los Angeles and hired architect Douglas Honnold[1] to design an eye-catching drive-in restaurant at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and La Brea Avenue in Hollywood.[2] Actor Humphrey Bogart compared the slanted canopy roof of the building to "a huge bird about to take off.".[3] The restaurant featured Googie architecture and carhop service, and claimed to be the birthplace of the Patty melt.[4] Naylor died on August 17, 1959, while at the Del Mar racetrack.[5] The original location closed on March 11, 1984[6] and was demolished. The site is currently a shopping center.[7]
Tiny Naylor's had a sister chain of Biff's Coffee Shops, named after W.W.'s son Biff Naylor. There were more than 40 Biff's and Tiny Naylor's locations in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.[8] In 1999 there was one Tiny Naylor's location remaining in Long Beach, California.[9] Biff Naylor came out of retirement to purchase the Du-par's restaurant chain in 2004.[8] Biff's daughter Jennifer Naylor, a chef in Malibu, consulted on the revamped menu.[10] Biff Naylor sold Du-par's in 2018.[11]
