100 years in San Pedro

Trani Family’s Legacy of Great Food

By Gretchen Williams, Columnist

“Cent’Anni” (100 years) is the traditional Italian toast, wishing long life as the wine glasses clink. The Trani family is celebrating over 100 years in the restaurant business in San Pedro. Great grandpa Fillipo never imagined the impact his original beer, beef stew and bean sandwiches would have on the growing community of the Port of Los Angeles.

The Majestic Cafe was located on lower 7th Street, next door to Atlas Marine Supply, and the ILWU dispatch was in the basement. The place was rocking with activity. The Papadakis building still stands across the street, a testament to a long-ago era. Today, that strip of 7th Street is home to the Crowne Plaza hotel parking area and car rental lot.

Majestic Cafe served a worker’s menu of stew, minestrone, “spags” and a local and cheap delicacy, the bean sandwich. The bar served shots and brews, and the adventurous tried the jug of Uncle’s homemade “grappa,” brandy made with the grape stems and seeds.  

In the post-World War II years, San Pedro was popular with the Hollywood set, and some stars kept boats at Cal Yacht Marina on 22nd Street. One rainy Saturday afternoon, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall and their soaked sailing party looked for refuge and a cocktail at the Majestic. “No cocktails here!” said young Lou Trani. The Norwegian ship chandler from next door was called in to help and produced a pitcher of Manhattans in short order. The maraschino cherries were requisitioned from the ship’s supply. Thus began the legendary Trani cocktail menu, a tradition that endures today at J. Trani’s, Dockside and The Majestic redux.

Many years of pasta and community popularity followed on 7th Street, until “urban renewal” leveled the building. Longshore dispatch and the ship supply moved to Wilmington, with most of the marine industry businesses. The Tranis made the big leap into their own building and thrived at 6th and Beacon, then evolved into the current-day J. Trani’s on 9th Street. The building was built and originally housed Peppy’s, maintaining the cozy architecture from the late ’50s and offering a warm welcome today. It is possible to still order the original bean sandwich, but the menu is beyond Fillipo’s wildest dreams, with chef Dustin leaving his able signature throughout the courses. A favorite on the appetizer list is the cold-smoked swordfish, delicate and delightful. An enthusiastic diner enjoyed it so much that he turned around and ordered another serving for his main dish. The excellent pasta will change, but the handmade butternut squash or spinach ravioli are always exceptional.  

Rub Fillipo’s bronze nose for ‘Pedro luck as you come into J. Trani’s. The late San Pedro portrait sculptor William Hathaway immortalized Granddad Fillipo, and his steady gaze continues to oversee his family here at the anchor restaurant. Fillipo and his five sons worked to establish the Majestic Cafe early on, and his great-grandson Dustin, with his dad Jim, a devoted and caring family and staff, have brought the restaurant and the menu into the 21st century.

Dustin does not hesitate to bring something delicious to the table. Asian flavors and techniques are new in this traditional arena, but offer refreshment to the senses. The daily specials of seafood or meat are always a delicious choice.

San Pedro has maintained a lively bar scene even through the changes and upheaval of the past decade. Dining at the bar is a valued tradition in a harbor town, and J. Trani’s has always made the worker welcome at the bar. A local politician has been known to have some of Trani’s fine pizza at the bar on her way home. 

Reaching the Municipal Fish Wharf at the foot of 22nd Street, the Trani touch has completely changed the original Canetti’s Seafood Grotto into Dockside, a modern and happening spot for cocktails, appetizers and seafood. Open for lunch and weekend brunch as well as dinner service, Dustin has taken the harborside setting and historical building and made magic, with tremendous potential for warm summer evenings in mind. The raw bar of oysters, ceviche, oysters Rockefeller, and an always-changing list of appetizers could be cause for a trip to Dockside any late afternoon. Talented barkeeps manage to keep everyone happy.

Historical San Pedro has been brought back to life on Beacon Street at The Majestic.  The original San Pedro YMCA had a hard second life as a home for challenged adults, and has now been rejuvenated into a potential hotel. The early landmark on Beacon Street at 10th Street has had the lobby floor beautifully reborn as The Majestic. A far cry from the rollicking original cafe, this formal dining room retains the flavor and atmosphere of an earlier time, the fine architecture, woodwork, and tile preserving the feeling of craftsmanship and quality. The Majestic is bringing the whole idea of a supper club back to life, the ambiance and formality of dining on fine cuisine in a lovely place, so long missing from the harbor scene.

Here is “cent’anni” to the Trani family for another 100 years in San Pedro!

Trani’s Ristorante, 584 W. 9th St., 310-832-1220

Trani’s Dockside Station, 311 E. 22nd St., 310-833-1188

The Majestic, 921 S. Beacon St., 310-847-0018