Tinhorn Flats used to be known for its fried pickles and happy hour. But the pandemic has put the Burbank sports bar on the map for a more controversial reason. Despite public health orders, it refused to cease indoor operations. At every turn, it met the city's rebukes with defiance.
Officials in Burbank had the restaurant’s power supply cut off on March 9. The owner bought a generator. On March 17, the city received permission to padlock Tinhorn’s saloon doors. The restaurant had the doors removed.
The war is heating up just as other LA County restaurants are finally allowed to reopen for indoor dining.
“Now Tin Horn Flats is complaining other restaurants can open, even for partial indoor dining, but they are required to close because they do not have a Public Health Permit or Conditional Use Permit,” said Vice Mayor Jess Talamantes. “Tin Horn Flats created this situation by remaining open during the peak of the surge, while other restaurants followed State and County Health Orders and closed.”
Tinhorn has become a lighting rod in the San Fernando Valley suburb. Right wing media applaud its antics, seeing it as martyr for the conservative cause. Protesters and counter-protesters show up on the corner to cheer or boo its patrons. People either love it or loathe it, depending on their politics. Then there’s a small group in the middle. They just miss the tacos.