At the Tower Bar, everything old becomes new again.
After six years at Jeff Klein’s prestigious San Vicente Bungalows, Dimitri Dimitrov is leaving this week to become the butler at Tower Bar, the star-studded Hollywood restaurant at Klein’s Sunset Tower Hotel, where the legendary 75-year-old maître d’ began working 20 years ago.
“Dimitri has been instrumental in making Tower Bar what it is, and he has been sorely missed by guests,” Klein said. “Our regulars will be thrilled to have him back.”
Regulars include everyone from Jennifer Aniston to Tom Ford to Elon Musk. (Charmed by the dapper Macedonian-born host, Musk convinced him to buy a ton of Tesla stock way back in 2010, a far-sighted move that ultimately turned Dimitri into Los Angeles’s first millionaire hotel manager.)
“For me it’s not about the money, of course,” said Dimitrov, who takes over from the departing Tower Bar host Geshi Wilmot. “It’s just historic to be back at this historic hotel. To be invited to do this, at my age, is just incredible!”
As it happens, the star-struck septuagenarian is also set to be the subject of an upcoming documentary that will chronicle his 40-year career at some of Los Angeles’s most exclusive restaurants and follow him as he fulfills his duties as Hollywood’s most celebrated host. The project is directed by Grant Singer, son of Hollywood pitbull attorney Marty Singer, who met Dimitrov as a child while dining at the Tower Bar with his father.
In the meantime, Klein has been busy overseeing the debut of two SVB branches, one in Santa Monica (slated to open in November) and the other in New York’s West Village, at the former Jane St. Hotel, slated to open later this year. Gabe Doppelt, the SVB partners’ roving empress, will be moving to Manhattan next month to oversee the Bungalows’ eastern expansion while keeping a close eye on all things Los Angeles.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind,” Klein admitted of all RPGs, “but somehow we manage to keep it under control!