It is not everyday that a one-minute clip gets me hooked on an entire television series, but that is exactly what happened with Brooklyn Nine-Nine. A few months back, my friend Kate texted me a hilarious highlight from a Season 5 episode in which Detective Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) leads a group of criminals in a rousing acapella rendition of the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” during a police lineup. I had never heard of the show at that point, but, let me tell you, as soon as the first strains of “You are my fire . . . “ hit my ears, I was done for! Any procedural that incorporates boy band music into its storyline is guaranteed to be a surefire favorite with me! The Grim Cheaper and I started watching the series that very night and have been binging it ever since. Not only is the acting superb and the dialogue laugh-out-loud funny, but (bonus!) it is shot in L.A., which means plenty of stalking for me. One of its locales, the small Chinatown eatery Nick’s Cafe, I first spotted in Season 3’s “House Mouses” and then again just a few weeks later on yet another series we are obsessed with, Bosch. So I decided I just had to run out and stalk the place.
[ad]
A veritable city institution, Nick’s Cafe (not to be confused with Nick’s Coffee Shop & Deli on Pico) was founded way back in 1948 by Navy vet Nick Viropolous.
In an unusual move, Nick chose to operate the place sans a name for the four decades that he owned it. As longtime waitress Lois Fuentes recalled in a 1995 Los Angeles Times article, “We went 41 years without a name. People would call it the Corner Cafe, the Ham House, all sorts of things. Nick was afraid if he gave it a name it might bring in more people. ‘Then you gotta hire more help,’ he’d say.”
The Ham House moniker, which is still sometimes used today, came about thanks to the bone-in ham, sliced to order, that Nick displayed daily on the eatery’s U-shaped counter.
Amazingly, the original counter is still intact today, seventy years after the restaurant first opened!
In the mid-90s, Viropolous sold the eatery to two LAPD homicide detectives who finally gave the place a name – Nick’s Cafe, in honor of its founder. The duo also installed a train track around the perimeter of the ceiling with a running model train that would circle the diner during open hours. Those tracks remain on display today (you can see them in the photos below), though the locomotive cars no longer operate.
Considering the profession of the new owners, it is not surprising that Nick’s became immensely popular with local police following the change of hands. As such, the restaurant has since been featured on numerous detective shows. But more on that in a bit.
In 2009, the cafe was taken over by a man named Rod Davis and it is still going strong today, largely thanks to the fact that little has been altered over the years. Not only is much of the décor original, but many of Nick’s recipes are still in use today.
I opted for a grilled cheese sandwich during my visit and it was honestly one of the best I’ve ever had. Granted, a grilled cheese is pretty hard to mess up, but the one served at Nick’s is stellar, with perfectly buttered toast and thick layers of two different kinds of cheese.
Most hours of the day at Nick’s are standing-room only, due to both its popularity and small size – the only available seating is at the counter, which is lined by a scant 25 stools, though the outside patio can accommodate an additional 25.
In the Season 3 episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine titled “House Mouses,” which aired in 2016, Jake convinces fellow detectives Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller) to take over his drug case by buying them lunch at Nick’s.
The restaurant’s filming history far pre-dates Brooklyn Nine-Nine, though.
In 1997, Nick’s was the setting for the Depeche Mode video “It’s No Good,” which you can watch here.
Kensi Blye (Daniela Ruah) and Marty Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen) visit Nick’s Cafe while investigating a terror suspect in the Season 3 episode of NCIS: Los Angeles titled “Patriot Acts,” which aired in 2012.
That same year, on yet another procedural, Detective Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) counsels Officer Ben Sherman (Ben McKenzie) about not getting emotionally attached to cases while standing in line at Nick’s in the Season 4 episode of Southland titled “Risk.”
The diner is the site of an armed robbery in DJ Snake and Justin Bieber’s 2016 “Let Me Love You” music video, which you can watch here.
Fellow stalker Geoff, of the 90210Locations website, informed me that the same year Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan) and Lip Gallagher (Jeremy Allen White) lunched outside of Nick’s in the Season 7 episode of Shameless titled “Swipe, F***, Leave.”
As I mentioned earlier, Nick’s also appeared on Bosch. In Season 3’s “Clear Shot,” which aired in 2017, Detective Santiago Robertson (Paul Calderon) discusses a recent case with Terry Drake (Barry Shabaka Henley) at the eatery.
And in yet another police-related production, Ponch (Michael Peña) meets some local CHP officers at Nick’s in the 2017 comedy CHIPS.
For more stalking fun, follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Los Angeles magazine and Discover Los Angeles.
Until next time, Happy Stalking! 
Stalk It: Nick’s Cafe, from the “House Mouses” episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, is located at 1300 Spring Street in Chinatown. You can visit the restaurant’s official website here. The eatery closes at 3 p.m. each day, so please plan accordingly.