History

Over 16 years ago, Rick Hankus bought a tiny little café called Grandma's Place in Hermosa Beach. He had a small dessert business selling to restaurants in the South Bay and wished to expand to offer meals as well to the public.

Business was so slow at first, Rick not only baked 7 days a weeks but also washed 3 days a week to save expenses.

Word slowly got out in the neighborhood that Grandma's was now Ocean Diner, a homey little place with incredible coffeecakes, muffins and homemade specialties like Mom's Meatloaf. The lines got longer and Ocean Diner became a happening spot, especially on weekends would line up on the sidewalk for a hearty and healthy meal.

Rick loved the 1940's era (after all, him parents influenced him in his taste for swing music as well as homemade desserts) so he decorated the walls with WW II newspapers, old toasters, waffle irons and anything else related to those swinging years.

A couple of years ago he bought the building and started the long process of plans, permits, etc. for an expansion and remodeling. 11 weeks of construction in 2002 produced an authentic 1940's diner, complete with more dining area, a new larger kitchen and separate bathrooms. It had always been on Rick's mind to offer dinner to his customers, but tiny size of the original kitchen made it impossible to do.

Ocean Diner now servers dinner six nights a week until 9:00 p.m. The entire breakfast and lunch menus are also available at all times, for those craving Crunchy French Toast or a Tortilla Scramble.

All items in the dessert case are made in-house, from scratch, and include old time favorites like Boston Creme Pie, Fruit Cobbler, Streusel Coffeecake and an ever-changing lineup of other goodies.