April 29, 1957
Los Angeles

When I saw this ad, my first reaction was: “You have GOT to be kidding me.”

My next reaction was: “Maybe it’s still there!”

Alas, no. The Queens Arms at 16325 Ventura Blvd. has been replaced by a Ralphs grocery store. And not even a Medieval-themed grocery store. What fun is that?

The Queens Arms was built by John and Chris Skoby, who also operated the Kings Arms in Toluca Lake. The restaurant was designed by Martin Obzina, the art director on “House of Dracula” and  House of Frankenstein.” (OK, to be fair, he received Oscar nominations for “The Flame of New Orleans” and “First Love.”)

Here’s restaurant columnist Ken Tichenor’s description from the Mirror: “Obzina built them a castle with turrets and spirals and huge doors and towering flaming torches outside. Also plenty of parking space.

“Inside, he placed heavy wooden beams overhead and stained wood pickets separating the three dining rooms and a wine cellar behind the bar and fireplaces scattered about.”

Chris Skoby died in 1998 at the age of 75. As far as I can tell, the Skoby family’s last restaurant in
Los Angeles, at 20419 Devonshire in Chatsworth, is now a Denny’s.

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