Duke’s West Hollywood (f/k/a Duke’s Coffee Shop)
I don’t even know where to begin.
The year was 2002. My brunch posse and I wandered into this iconic greasy spoon and marveled at the post-hangover satisfaction of their 3-egg scrambles with green chiles and made-to-order breakfast burritos. Duke’s integrated the seediness of the Whisky-A-Go-Go next door with the creature comforts of a short-order grill in a fun way.
However, the indelible memory from Duke’s was not their usage of Hunts ketchup. It was their “Wall of Fame” comprised of hundreds of autographed headshots. One of these photos featured a young, shirtless Scott Wolf (Party of Five, Go, V) with partially unbuttoned jeans in a seductive pose with librarian glasses. The signage reads: “To Dukes - thanks for the eggs. Scott Wolf”.
Um, what?
This spawned seven years of intense debate. Did Scott Wolf take this photo as a joke? Or was it his “go-to” headshot that his publicist used? Why was he posing this way? Was this used to book Party of Five? What the hell is going on here? For years we had wondered about the story behind the photo.
Fast forward to the year 2009. We had been avoiding Duke’s because it had recently been sold to new management and undergone a facelift. We approached with trepidation as we re-entered our old haunt. The Hunts ketchup was replaced with good old Heinz. The place was much cleaner and roomier than it was in the glory days. The menu was shorter. It seemed pleasant…but something was missing.
The Scott Wolf headshot. It was gone. John Mahoney, Richard Lewis, Jerry O’Connell and John F. Kennedy Jr. were all still intact. But Bailey’s photo was missing.
“Where is Scott Wolf’s headshot?” asked my friend Jon.
“Well his photo fell down and almost hit my head, so we took that as a divine sign to get rid of it” replied one of the grill cooks. ”I think we still have it under the register. Would you like to have it?”
Jon in stunned amazement: “Of course! You have no idea how much this photo means to me.” And he was speaking the truth. Then we ran out of there before they could change their mind.
Maybe one day Scott Wolf himself can tell an origin story about his old headshot. And we can all laugh about it over a 3-egg scramble. Or at least have an awkward silence. - H. Lee
Dukes West Hollywood, 8909 W Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069, (310) 652-3100
