A Googie-style coffee shop that fed the San Fernando Valley for six decades, with a detour into horror cinema along the way.
At a glance
From 1958 to 2019, this Sherman Oaks restaurant operated under several names. The building itself is the real story: a low-slung, sweeping-roofed design by Armet & Davis, the firm that defined Southern California’s Googie architecture. The interior was the work of Helen Liu Fong, one of the few women shaping mid-century commercial design at the time.
History
It opened in 1958 as Stanley Burke’s Coffee Shop. Six years later, it became Corky’s and began serving around the clock. Billy Joel played piano there in the early 1970s. He was let go after only a few weeks. A remodel followed later that decade.
In 1980, the restaurant took the name The Lamplighter. That version appears in the 2010 film A Nightmare on Elm Street. A restoration in 2010 brought back the Corky’s name. But the revival did not last. Corky’s closed on December 14, 2019, and the interior was later demolished.
The city declared the building a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 2020. Empty and frequently vandalized, it deteriorated for years. In 2025, Chick-fil-A announced plans to restore the property based on its original 1950s look and Fong’s interior design. The restaurant reopened as a Chick-fil-A on December 4, 2025.
What you see
The building’s defining feature is its roofline: a single, dramatic sweep, low to the ground and reaching upward, the signature of Googie architecture. Armet & Davis designed it. Inside, guests would have encountered Helen Liu Fong’s interior. Her palette and spatial flow were central to the original character.
The 2010 restoration and the later Chick-fil-A conversion both aimed to return the property to that mid-century appearance.
Cultural significance
Corky’s represents a vanishing species: the everyday Googie coffee shop. These buildings turned routine meals into a futuristic experience, and few survive intact. The city’s decision to list it as a Historic-Cultural Monument in 2020 recognized that value, even amid demolition threats.
The restaurant also holds a small place in popular culture. A Nightmare on Elm Street shot scenes here during its Lamplighter years, and the young Billy Joel’s short-lived gig belongs to Sherman Oaks lore.
Key facts
- Location: Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, United States
- Coordinates: 34.16244, -118.449
- Status: Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (2020)
Practical information & getting there
The site now operates as a Chick-fil-A. Check current opening hours before visiting. The building stands in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, near the intersection of Ventura Boulevard and Van Nuys Boulevard. Metered street parking is available nearby.
Sources & resources
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