Ma Maison


Ma Maison was a restaurant opened by Patrick Terrail in the fall of 1973 at 8368 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, California. Backers included Gene Kelly.
It is credited with getting Wolfgang Puck's career off the ground, for starting the trend called California cuisine but they called "California nouvelle" and being a hot spot for celebrities. Terrail arranged for many famous artists to paint the menu covers designed by David Hockney.. It closed on November 1, 1985.
Their phone number was unlisted, supposedly because "If you don't have the number, we don't want you."
One source stated the “fall from greatness” began when sous chef John Sweeney strangled his actress girlfriend to death. Many believed Terrail supported Sweeney leading “the glamorous clientele” to stop frequenting the restaurant.
Besides being a hotspot for celebrities, they attracted “businessmen and lawyers... for what became known as Ma Maison's "drunk lunches." Debauchery ensued, and conspicuous consumption to the highest degree was commonplace.”

Notable former employees