Not every TV show stands the test of time quite like The Golden Girls. The sitcom starring Betty White, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty as roommates in a Miami home ran from 1985 to 1992, but has a passionate fan base and a prominent place in pop culture to this day. The interiors of the house that Dorothy (Arthur), Rose (White), Blanche (McClanahan), and Dorothy’s mother Sophia (Getty), shared epitomized ‘80s design trends. Their patterned living room sofa, wooden kitchen cabinets, and linoleum floors are sure to remind most millennials of their own childhood homes, making reruns of the show (currently available to stream on Hulu) all the more comforting to watch.
Starting July 30, superfans of The Golden Girls can get even more of a fix by visiting
a pop-up restaurant in Beverly Hills put on by Bucket Listers, a company which curates activity itineraries in different cities and hosts original events as well. The new pop-up, known as The Golden Girls Kitchen, recreates the ladies’ iconic kitchen and serves dishes inspired by the show—including four different flavors of their most beloved food, cheesecake. “We knew the kitchen had to be the focal point of the entire experience. It’s where the girls would come together in the good times and the bad,” Bucket Listers Director of Experiences Derek Berry tells AD. “Cheesecake was one of their love languages and one of the most recognizable parts of the show, it felt like a no brainer to start there.”
Chocolate, strawberry, pumpkin, and Oreo cheesecake are all on offer, as are other delectable desserts such as Rose’s Genurkenflurgen cake and Sperheoven Krispies (the latter she claims is an “ancient Scandinavian midnight snack”) and a Georgia-style cookie inspired by Blanche. For the main dishes, chef Royce Burke is offering Sophia’s lasagna al forno, a “Lanai” Cuban sandwich, and more meals that are an ode to the characters.
“We quickly learned how loyal and passionate this show’s fanbase is. Getting it wrong wasn’t an option. No detail was overlooked, no episode went unwatched,” says Berry. He enlisted artist Rob Fidel to design the space, and together with prop master Brittany Matyas, they scoured thrift stores across Los Angeles for the perfect plates, kitchen appliances, lace doilies, and more items to make the space feel authentic.
Guests enter into a bar area called Shady Pines— a nod to the retirement home where Sophia lived before moving in with her daughter Dorothy in the show. The main dining area is a recreation of the kitchen set from the show; and there is also a highly Instagrammable replica of Blanche’s bedroom in all of its banana leaf printed glory. “We wanted the people sitting down at the tables to feel like they were sitting down at the table in the kitchen, so we decorated each table to have doilies and flowers and vases,” Fidel tells AD. While none of the items in the restaurant are actual relics from the set of the show, eagle-eyed fans will spot plenty of recreated details, like garlic hanging on the walls of the kitchen and old perfume bottles in Blanche’s bedroom.
Tickets to the Golden Girls Kitchen are on sale now, and for those who can’t make it to the Beverly Hills location, the pop-up will be coming to New York in the fall, Miami and San Francisco in the winter, and Chicago in the spring of 2023.
