Loyola's Family Restaurant
4500 Central Ave SE
1958
Ferguson, Stevens & Associates
Armet and Davis, Consulting Architects
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Of the many architectural mysteries Modern Albuquerque has encountered, how Loyola's came to be is perhaps the most enduring. Opened as Sherm's in 1958, this Googie diner with a folded eave sunscreen would not be out of place in Southern California. Armet and Davis, a Los-Angeles architectural firm famous for their 50s and 60s coffee shops and eateries, are identified on the restaurant's plans as consulting architects, yet neither firm has a record of collaboration. Sherm's/Loyola's appears to have been inspired by the now-demolished Holly's Diner/Hawthrone Grill, a Hawthorne, California fixture that opened in 1956.
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Since opening, the restaurant has been expanded, a vestibule has been added, and a drop ceiling installed. It has been featured in "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul."
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