Ships Coffee Shop
The Ship's on Overland Ave. in Culver City
Christopher Columbus had three ships and restaurateur Emmett Shipman had three Ships — one in Westwood, one in Culver City and everyone’s favorite, which was the one at Olympic and La Cienega. Each Ships was open 24 hours and it wasn’t Denny’s. In terms of cuisine, it wasn’t that much better but it felt friendlier and classier.
If you ordered breakfast, they brought you bread instead of toast and you cooked it yourself in the toaster at your table. Every table had one, plus they were all along the counter for the folks sitting there. It was another great place to get a hot turkey sandwich and I remember that a friend of mine liked to go there because they had “the coldest milk in the world.” The waitresses were all what you’d get if you put out a casting call for “friendly coffee shop waitresses.”
All three Ships Coffee shops were opened by Shipman between 1956 and 1967 and closed within a narrow window in the eighties. They were noted for their decor and the one at Olympic and La Cienega was used as a location in several movies. They may be among the “most missed” defunct eateries in all of Southern California. Here’s a look at their classic menu…
To see the entire Ships menu, click above
21 Responses to Ships Coffee Shop
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I enjoyed Ship’s. I went to the one at Olympic & La Cienega several times. There was a huge sign that loomed over the building that under the Ship’s logo had another sign that said “Never Closed.”
When that location went out of business, the “Ships…Never Closed” stayed up for at least another year. Which I found funny.
Thank you for your comments. The Ship’s website is up at http://www.shipscoffeeshop.com. Lots of old and new information.
The Culver City store operated 1956 to 1996. 50 million customers
served in 40 years.
Thanks
Mr. Ship’s
I believe my aunt worked at the Ships in Culver City for a majority of her life. Her name was Florence Fields.
In college, used to go there a lot after a movie in Westwood. Always reliable, always good service and coffee, and the bestest paty malt. Miss it.
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I enjoyed all three locations for different reasons. They had a unique atmosphere that made you feel special for some reason. I guess they had an air of elegance and were simply very well run. They had a great turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce on it. I always used to get their turkey brochette too. No turkey dishes on the included menu but it was real turkey.
Ships in Westwood was like our dining room I ate there so often–the servers all knew my daughter’s name. A good friend got the giant Ships’ sign when they tore down the building and it is now installed in his back yard. It still works, too.
I remember the old joke was you can burn your own toast. I miss Ships, there was no reason for them to go out of business, look at all the 24 Dennys still in business.
My wedding party culminated at Ships in Westwooed at 1am which was down the street from the Temple we got married at
Long time resident of Culver City Ships was a staple for late night munchies
Loved going to the Westwood Ship’s on Sunday mornings. Had a great breakfast and always consistently good. Anyone know why they closed? They always seemed busy to me. ???
My first date was at Ship’s in Culver City — around 1964. I first ate there in 1962 and yes – there was always something special about it that made it much classier than a Denny’s. It always had that super futuristic spaceship motif outside –
Ships, the Westwood Village bastion, was my home away from home when I was a student at UCLA. The waitresses were friendly and a couple of them looked after us kids like we were theirs.
I took my dates there, met my friends there, sometimes studied there. The food was good, but the clam chowder, Manhatten variety, was the absolute best!! Boy, how I wish I had that recipe I so miss that chowder!!
Much better than Denny’s!
Definitely much missed. If there is a heaven, there will be a Ships there!!
Ships La Cienega was my place to go. Who would ever think of putting toasters on every table? What a great idea! I can’t believe that no one else has copied that idea, but then of course, some dope would burn themselves on a hot toaster and sue you for sure. I think the food tasted better because your toast was hot and fresh. The building designs were fantastic—space age and all—really 1950 post war architecture. Can you imagine trying to get a Ships, Webster’s or Huddle approved by any building department today?
It just so happened that a friend of mine and myself were in the Olympic store the last night it was opened. You would have thought there would have been some fanfare or some kind of big bang going out but, no…it went out like a whisper and we left that night with a heavy heart for one of our favorite night spots.
Ships had the best deep dish boysenberry pies! I lived for those.After a night of running around,I would go right there for those pies.Everything anymore is corporate America.
In the 80′s I worked for a TV network and loved it whenever I had to go to LA. We’d stay at the terrific Westwood Marquis, stroll around the hood and pray for a snowstorm in NY so we’d have to stay longer.
I really loved breakfast at Ships. Quality was OK, but the toasters did it for me. Hot toast, heaven.
Wonder if they ever got troublemakers sticking forks in the toasters…
I miss you so much Matthew Shipman.
I also miss Ship’s in Westwood.
The ship-shape burger was my passion. And they cooked it rare as I asked. The friendly atmosphere, the fifties decor all added up to a great dining experience. The Westwood Ships was demolished to make way for a high rise. We fans were promised that the restaurant would have a place on the first floor – it never happened.
A family favorite for sure back in the 50′s and beyond. I remember going there with some high school friends quite a bit. It was fun to toast our bread in the toasters on the tables. I was so sorry to see it go. The hot turkey sandwich was amazing.
I remember the single pat of butter and carrot that accompanied each hamburger. The back page of the menu named all the suppliers so I knew they cared about quality ingredients. When I had a cold and didn’t have the energy to fix a late night dinner I used to drive to Ships for an open faced chicken sandwich which made me feel better every time. Then there was the deep dish berry cobbler with cream, yummy. I loved Ships and will treasure my memories of Ships always.
My Mom “Virginia” worked at the Olympic Ships for 19 years. She was there when it closed. We had so many late nights and good times there that I will never forget. My mom and everyone were so very sad when it closed. We miss Mom and Ships.