Papadakis Taverna, RIP

The San Pedro destination for Greek food and community closes Sunday after 37 years. Nice send-off from Jeff Gottlieb in the L.A. Times.

John Papadakis' restaurant is a lot like its owner -- big, brash and loud. No dim lights, no quiet romantic evening here. On a typical night, the music builds and Papadakis breaks into a Greek dance with a waitress, a pair of belly dancers wriggle through the aisles as the owner tosses dollars bills at them, an 88-year-old tuxedo-clad violinist who played with Frank Sinatra strolls through the restaurant.

Plates break, a dish of saganaki is set on fire. A tap dancer in a baggy suit stomps in front of a self-portrait of Anthony Quinn as Zorba the Greek.

For decades, Papadakis Taverna has been the best known attraction in San Pedro, not just for its food and atmosphere, but as an out-of-the-way place where celebrities such as Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Hanks and Paula Abdul gathered. It's where Pete Carroll, then-coach of the owner's beloved USC Trojans, would close the deal with high school recruits. It was where Natalie Wood ate the night before she drowned off the coast of Catalina in 1981.

How many restaurants show up as answers on "Jeopardy"?

Papadakis was a starting linebacker at USC.

From LA Observed in 2008:
Papadakis Taverna could be closing