This story is part of a Neon Tommy Special Report that follows 2012 campaign money in L.A.  >>>

In a small town of big players, a little mom and pop restaurant like Miceli’s can easily go unnoticed. 

Right off the U.S 101 freeway on the corner of Cahuenga and Regal Place, Miceli’s has been family owned since 1949. The quaint Italian restaurant is festively warm, transporting a hungry customer with its dangling lights, paintings, stained glass windows and red- and- white -checkered tablecloths. 

This festivity is best reflected in 50-year-old owner Frank Miceli, who has helped with the family business since the tender age of seven. 

“I remember being about seven or eight years old making about a dime an hour,” Miceli said. “I remember making enough money to get on my bike, riding the half mile to the five and dime to buy the hot wheels car I wanted.”

And not much has changed since then, he says, because he’s still in the back chopping carrots and getting his hands dirty. 

Miceli’s parents Carmen and Sylvia Miceli first started the business after moving from Chicago and at that time there were four locations in various parts of Los Angeles, with the Universal City location eventually becoming the commissary. However, after Jimmy Carter became president along with an economic slump, four locations dwindled down to two.

The Universal City location of Miceli’ was established in the 1980s and has seen many changes over the years, most notably the addition of Universal CityWalk in 1993.

Some would assume that a small business located next to a tourist magnet like Universal Studios Hollywood would be a dream come true.

Unfortunately, it just isn’t that simple. 

“[Universal Studios] has grown by leaps and bounds. I think it’s phenomenal, [but] to the detriment of local businesses. The fact that they built those two big hotels, all the little hotels in our area have gone out of business.” 

Miceli is especially disappointed by how congested the streets have become, namely Lankershim Boulevard, which leads directly to his restaurant. However, more people and more congestion doesn’t necessarily equal good business, at least not for Miceli’s. 

“There was a time when you used to see people from Universal Studios walking here for lunch. Walking off the studio going to lunch,” Miceli said. “We used to joke, ‘Fantastic! They built 15 movie theaters just for us,’ because people would come to Miceli’s then go to the movies. They don’t have to do that anymore. They funnel them into those facilities where there’s no reason to leave. It’s like Disneyland. You get off at Universal Studios…it leads you right on to CityWalk.” 

Frank Miceli, the owner of Miceli's in Universal City (Photo by Judy Wang)

This is especially personified by the fact that Miceli’s is just a two minute drive from the entrance of Universal Studios. Also, Miceli says being a mom and pop doesn’t warrant the benefits of bigger businesses that are able to make it into the CityWalk.

However, when the conversation shifts to a more political tone, Miceli is surprisingly forgiving. He’s brief about his voting habits, only saying that he does vote and qualifies his statements by calling them simply opinions.

“I don’t think our president has been allowed to do a lot,” he said.

Miceli believes inaction is mostly attributed to party disputes between Democrats and Republican, which keeps Mr. Obama from doing what he needs to do. 

However, Miceli’s main concern is based in local government, which he believes isn’t working for the small businesses. 

After relaying to him the big players involved in political donations, Miceli doesn’t seem fazed or surprised. Probably because he is a business owner himself, Miceli understands personal interest in the political sphere and he doesn’t blame anyone. 

Frank Miceli certainly embodies the atmosphere of the local mom and pop, from his big personality to his passionate way of talking, Miceli’s Restaurant brings a deeper personality to a city that is typically associated with a large Hollywood studio.  

Though, as the city continues to expand its Hollywood interests, time can only tell what will happen to the local eateries in the area. 

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