El Coyote Cafe

‘The Last Supper’ at 7312 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036

El Coyote is a Mexican restaurant located at 7312 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles

El Coyote cafe first opened back in 1931 however moved to its current location in 1959 (it was originally located on the corner of First Street in what is considered the La Brea District – west Los Angeles between downtown and Hollywood).

Known not only for its great food and ambience, part of the small restaurants notoriety is due to it being the final location where Hollywood actress Sharon Tate enjoyed her last meal with guests including Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger and Wojciech Frykowski. Little did they know, the moderately wealthy group would later be slaughtered that evening by the “Manson Family” during the very early morning hours of August 9, 1969.

Prior to their visiting the restaurant, Tate’s ex-lover and friend, Hollywood hairdresser Jay Sebring made reservations for the four around 8:00 PM and the group left about 9:45 heading back to Sharon Tate’s 10050 Cielo Drive home.

According to a police investigation report by the Los Angeles Robbery-Homicide Division:

Between 2145 and 2200 hours, John DelGaudio, manager of the El Coyote Restaurant noted Jay Sebring’s name on the waiting list. The slip called for a party of four. Kathy Palmer, waitress at the El Coyote, recalls the Sebring party on the waiting list and states that the party waited in the bar for 15 or 20 minutes, then were served dinner and departed between 2145 and 2200 hours. Kathy is not acquainted with any of the party. She was unable to positively identify persons in the party from photos of Sebring, Frykowski, Folger and Polanski.

To this day the small in-and-out diner-like restaurant caters to its Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, an ‘authentic California-style Mexican food’ and enjoys flocks of patrons and celebs in and around Hollywood. The small café seats 370 and serves about 1,000 meals a day.

Unfortunately for the owners it can’t shake its long rooted connection to the grisly murders that took place in 1969 as a cult-tour service called Dearly Departed Tours continually haunts the restaurant with periodic visits to show-off the location while filming video of the exact booth were the victims ate their last meal, an event that the tour company has dubbed “The Last Supper.”

Others who visit are Tate fans who commemorate the actress by dining there periodically and especially on the anniversary of the crimes and her birthday. Some even make reservations using the last name “Tate” when they call in.

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