John O'Groats

Opened on February 26th, 1982 by Angelica and Robert Jacoby, (the owner of the West Los Angeles institution Bit‘oScotland) the original restaurant was located at the southwest corner of Manning Avenue and Pico Boulevard. It was a 750 square building with a 20-seat counter. Mr. Jacoby was the cook and Mrs. Jacoby was the waitress (never having done this before!) The only meals served were breakfast and lunch so to ensure the Jacoby’s could have dinner with their sons Paul and Carl Tyler. After only five months of operation, the restaurant received its’ first review in the L.A. Reader. Soon O’Groats was being heralded as one of Los Angeles’ best breakfast restaurants. 

John O’Groats remained at that location for two years with great success.

Their reason for success was no secret. Mr. and Mrs. Jacoby insisted on purchasing the best available products, e.g. farm fresh eggs, thickly sliced lean bacon, and fresh produce, and serving everyone with a smile. 

Mrs. Jacoby had the remarkable ability to remember her guests’ names on the first visit. John O’Groats second location opened its doors in the Summer of ‘84. It was the summer prior to Paul’s freshman year at Cornell University’s School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration. The Jacoby’s continued to run the restaurant with great success and Paul was learning more about the business aspects of the restaurant industry. 

Upon Paul’s completion of the four-year program, he returned to work for the Jacoby’s. He worked in the kitchen, as a waiter, and as a manager putting to use the principles of both Cornell University and the Jacoby’s. 

In the summer of 1994, Paul became the managing partner and has since created some of the signature dishes that are a part of the O’Groats experience, including Huevos O’Groats and the Vegetarian Hash. The Jacoby’s and Paul expanded the restaurant in the summer of 1995 in the storefront to the east. Expansion occurred once again in July of 2000 with the 1,300 square feet of additional space in the adjacent storefront.