HAWTHORNE : Cockatoo Inn to Close, Reluctantly, Dec. 22

The landmark Cockatoo Inn, which recently got a $1-million face lift, will close its doors in December.

Officials at the inn’s management company, California Hotels Corp., said the 213-room hotel, which resembles a half-timbered English house, was losing money.

“It’s disappointing to me,” said John Mavros, the company’s senior vice president.

Last year, the hotel received a $500,000 contract with the military to temporarily house new recruits waiting to take examinations. But the contract was not enough to support the inn, which has slid to an average occupancy rate of 50%, Mavros said.

The sharpest hit has been the loss of thousands of defense industry and aerospace jobs in the South Bay, Mavros said.

About 80 employees were notified that the hotel will be closing Dec. 22, Mavros said. The company, which owns other hotels in California, is trying to help employees relocate or find other work, he said.

The inn has been for sale for years, for up to $11 million. The most recent asking price was $3.5 million, Mavros said.

The building, which was constructed in 1946 as a chicken-and-rib drive-in restaurant, catered to politicians and celebrities during the 1950s and ‘60s.