The friends in question were Brady Potts and Mary McCoy and the restaurant was Jan’s, 8424 Beverly Blvd., where Gail Russell trapped the janitor under her car when she jumped the curb and crashed into the building.

When I read the story I assumed Russell was in the parking lot and
simply hit the gas pedal instead of the brakes. But no. After looking
at the height of the curb and width of the sidewalk, I decided she must
have been flying. And as there’s no side street directly across Beverly
Boulevard from where she struck the restaurant, I can’t imagine how she
managed to hit it so squarely perpendicular. But she did.

Here’s the counter, 1957:

Los Angeles Times

And the counter today:

Photograph by Larry Harnisch Los Angeles Times

Since you asked, Jan’s is a pretty nice breakfast place. It was a bit
of a brain-teaser that early in the morning to ponder why a half-order
of French toast costs more than the jumbo French toast, but the three
of us put our heads together and figured it out. Definitely worth
another visit.

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