Jeff Douek believes magic brought the Late Show sign to WeHo Bistro. He sat on a bench near the spot where the marquee will hang for good and said it belongs there. ‘I believe in magic,’ Douek said. ‘I believe magic is that thing that makes life easier.’
The world-famous sign has been photographed, shared and covered widely since Douek posted its arrival on Instagram. What hasn’t come through yet is why he wanted it, and why he believes WeHo Bistro was destined to be its caretaker.
WEHOonline caught up with Douek Wednesday afternoon, just after lunch, at WeHo Bistro. Douek owns the neighborhood hot spot at 1040 N. La Cienega Blvd. The restaurant is now home to the marquee that hung over “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” for 11 seasons at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York.
When asked how the journey began, Douek said a friend called him one night while watching Colbert’s final episodes and told him the sign was going up for auction. He knew instantly he had to own it. “At that very moment, I knew I would call him,” Douek said. “I had to own it.” The sign sold through a benefit auction for World Central Kitchen, the nonprofit founded by chef José Andrés. Colbert’s team told him the auction raised roughly $2 million for the organization.
Getting the marquee to West Hollywood took three days. Movers gave him incorrect dimensions for the sign, he said, which made it too large for most trucks. A flatbed eventually hauled it cross-country in one continuous run. “They drive straight through from New York to here, in three days,” Douek said. The driver slept twice, in three-hour stretches, he said. The story kept growing once the sign went up, Douek said. He was on CNN earlier today. Douek said he never doubted the sign belonged in West Hollywood. He calls it proof of the same magic he’s spent years trying to build into WeHo Bistro.
The sign is on the WeHo Bistro roof facing La Cienega for now. It will move permanently to a covered patio space next to the restaurant that, until just last week, was landscaping, Douek said. The space may also eventually be used for podcasts and live performances. The reaction from the City has been positive, he said. Mayor Heilman was at the restaurant last night and congratulated him on the sign.
The timing lines up with what Douek calls a new chapter for WeHo Bistro. The restaurant reopened in June after a Los Angeles County health inspection prompted a temporary closure during LA Pride weekend. “The fact that we were closed for a few days made everybody sort of wake up and appreciate you more,” Douek said. “We appreciate all the support we’ve got from so many people.” Customers have been showing up specifically to see the sign, some booking reservations from out of town, he said. “We got people who heard the news story in another city, and they made a booking, and they’re coming just to see it,” Douek said.
Douek opened WeHo Bistro in January 2012. The restaurant began as a project with his husband, who died in 2016, he said. He’s run it alone since. The restaurant has grown to become an iconic location for lunch, brunch and dinners over the years.
Unfortunately, not everything is magical as the restaurant industry continues to struggle. Douek said he hopes people keep showing up to make sure WeHo Bistro is around for years to come. He said the City has tried to help but that bureaucracy has slowed some of that support down, even as officials’ intentions are good. He said restaurant grants have helped some folks but haven’t been enough to offset what many restaurants are up against. Even then, Douek said, he doesn’t run the place on numbers alone. Douek said he plans to leave WeHo Bistro to his staff someday. Survival isn’t guaranteed, he said, but that’s the intention, as long as the restaurant makes it that far.
I told him about my neighbor Marlena Parker, who turned 95 this year. She said she would not spend her birthday anywhere else but WeHo Bistro. Now it makes a little more sense why.
Douek has a tattoo that reads ‘Colors of Love.’ He got it after a trip to Thailand that began the day WeHo Bistro closed for COVID. Douek figured he would rather be on a beach than alone in a house if he caught the virus. A canceled flight turned into a six-week stretch in Phuket, where Douek said he danced on the beach with 150 strangers stranded by the same lockdown. When he returned home, he was inspired to bring some of those good feelings and vibe in the midst of all the darkness that was COVID. Douek said he rented a forklift, bought 10,000 lights and built out the restaurant’s patio himself — same instinct that later made room for a different kind of homecoming — one for a sign from New York. 
“Magic is not a limited thing,” Douek said. “It’s something that we can intentionally create more of just by thinking about it.”
Seems like some pretty cool magic conjured up by a pretty magical guy. Here’s to Jeff and WeHo Bistro keeping the magic alive for years to come.
