Burbank is more than Bob's Big Boy. How the city found a solution to downtown doom

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Set us as preferred A Burbank landlord trying to land a trendy ice cream shop tenant got a critical assist from the city that helped seal the deal.When a Van Leeuwen Ice Cream representative came to look at his space in the center of downtown Burbank in April, a senior city official was there to help woo the brand, said Kurt Kaufman of West Coast Investors, which owns the property.“She said, ‘Look, guys, we aren’t the city of L.A.

We can make things happen,’” he recalled.“They were able to open in quite record speed.”Van Leeuwen had expected to have to wait until next year, but was able to open its doors in time for peak ice cream season, summer, in part because of the city’s help.

While downtown Los Angeles is languishing, Burbank is booming.Its secret formula, the city says, is embracing businesses, helping the homeless and keeping streets clean, to make downtown a go-to destination for more shoppers, diners and commuters.

“You have to be vigilant with your maintenance, with your homeless outreach, with outreach to businesses, with your marketing and PR,” said Community Development Director Patrick Prescott.“It’s just constant vigilance.”Much has changed since “Beautiful Downtown Burbank” was a running joke on midcentury TV shows such as “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”It still has Bob’s Big Boy, the last restaurant of a once-large chain known for its chubby mascot, and Milt & Edie’s, a quirky pink-awninged 24-hour tailor and dry cleaner dating to the 1980s.Young city staffers don’t remember Carson or Bob Hope, whose name was taken off the local airport in 2017, but they are helping build a new identity for the unassuming but world-famous enclave, home to major studios Warner Bros.

Discovery and Walt Disney.The new name of the airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport, point...