The Derby from “Book Club”

They say that laughter is the best medicine.  For me, it’s laughter coupled with stalking.  While recovering from a minor surgery last October, I hunkered down in bed for a couple of days watching movies.  The flick that brought the most healing was easily Book Club thanks to both its humor and the fact that it was lensed in Los Angeles.  As such, I paused the 2018 romcom countless times throughout my viewing in order to research its locations, much to the Grim Cheaper’s chagrin.  A few I was thrilled to recognize from the outset, including Hummingbird Nest Ranch, which I blogged about in March, and The Derby, one of Arcadia’s most historic and popular restaurants where Sharon Meyers (Candice Bergen) goes on a blind date with a man she meets though a dating app in the film.  Though I dedicated a post to the eatery back in 2013, I figured it was worthy of a re-do.

The Derby was originally opened as Proctor’s Tavern, a small steakhouse established by Arcadia Rotary Club charter member Hudson M. Proctor on Foothill Boulevard near Santa Anita Park in 1922.

It was moved to its current home, a sprawling brick building at 233 East Huntington Drive, in October 1931.

The restaurant did not become The Derby until December 1938 when it was purchased by Bill Peterson and his business partner, famed jockey George “The Iceman” Woolf, who rode such stallions as Seabiscuit and Azucar to victory.

Woolf filled the intimate, dimly-lit interior with memorabilia and bric-a-brac from his illustrious racing career, most of which is still on display today.

The Derby was hit by tragedy on January 4th, 1946 when George was killed during a race at the tender age of 35, shocking the equestrian community, the city of Arcadia, and the restaurant’s longtime patrons.  Though his widow, Genevieve, continued to run the place for several years, she wound up selling it to Dominic and Lorene Sturniolo in 1951.

The Sturniolo family enjoyed a 50+-year tenure at The Derby until they, too, sold to the restaurant’s current owners, Dustin Nicolarsen and Michael Thomas, in 2007.

Today, the place is still going strong, almost one hundred years after its inception!  In fact, it is one of my and the GC’s favorite Pasadena-area spots.  Though it is on the pricey side, its happy hour can’t be beat!

In Book Club, The Derby is where Sharon meets up with her Bumble date, “bald tax attorney” George (Richard Dreyfuss).

In the scene, the two sit in the restaurant’s main dining room, which in the Proctor’s Tavern days was known as the “Spanish Room.”

After their date, Sharon and George head outside to The Derby’s parking lot where things get a bit – ahem – amorous.

The Derby was also the site of Derek’s (Adam Scott) birthday party in the 2008 comedy Step Brothers.

Though Seabiscuit did not do any filming on the premises, costume designer Judianna Makovsky spent time at the restaurant researching Woolf’s former racing uniforms.  As she told the Los Angeles Times in a 2003 article, the experience was “completely invaluable.”  Dominic and Lorene Sturniolo’s son, Charles, who was running the eatery at the time “even let us come over and dig through boxes and scrapbooks.  In racing museums, they save the shirts and hats but not what'”‘”‘s underneath.  Nobody had the britches or shoes.  People just didn'”‘”‘t save it.  We were thrilled to find The Derby.  It brought to mind that George Woolf was a real man, not just a character in a story.”

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Derby, from Book Club, is located at 233 East Huntington Drive in Arcadia.  You can visit the restaurant’s official website here.

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