With Morton's Gone, Can the Arnie Morton Steakhouse Adopt its True Name Here?

Los Angeles: "Arnie Morton's


Rest of the World: "Morton's"

Hollywood hotspot Morton's is closing at the end of the year -- another link to the go-go-80s and early 1990s Hollywood that will now disappear.

It made me wonder: Will the steakhouse chain Arnie Morton's finally drop the "Arnie" and go by "Morton's," like it does everywhere else?

The backstory: Los Angeles' hot power spot Morton's was opened in 1979 by Arnie Morton's children, the famed Hard Rock Cafe maven Peter Morton and sister Pamela. Byt the time the Morton's steakhouse chain came to town, the name had already been taken -- famously. So the chain popped on the "Arnie."

Meanwhile, the Times characterizes the loss of Morton's as significant:

For Hollywood's elite, it was the place to gather on Monday nights. Table location determined your position in the pecking order. On Oscar night, winners clutched their awards as they made their way through a gantlet of air kisses and fawning congratulations.

Now, the Mortons era is ending. On Friday, the iconic West Hollywood eatery announced it would close its doors at the end of the year.

Plans call for the space to be converted by British hotelier Nick Jones into a members-only social club called Soho House West Hollywood.