The Formosa Cafe, scheduled to reopen this May or June, has been designated a local cultural resource by the city of West Hollywood.

“Please do what’s right for the place,” Bobby Green, a partner in 1933 Group, which owns the Formosa, told the council before it unanimously approved the designation. “Let’s save it for future generations.”

The Formosa is looking for a general manager and other staff members as it prepares for its reopening. There will be a hiring event at the restaurant on March 5 from 1-3 p.m.

The cafe was frequented over the years by singers, actors and mobsters during Hollywood’s Golden Age, but closed suddenly in December 2016. Following some uncertainty about the building’s fate, 1933 Group, a hospitality company that specializes in renovating and reopening historic hospitality venues, secured a lease in spring 2017.

The Formosa’s local designation comes two years after the City Council recognized it as one of nearly 60 properties throughout the city that could be eligible for historic designation at the local, state or national level. The city’s Historic Preservation Commission recommended the cafe’s designation in January, and local residents and preservation enthusiasts have long supported it.

“The iconic Formosa Cafe on Historic Route 66 played an important role in West Hollywood’s commercial development, especially in the growing film industry,” said Victor Omelczenko, board president of the nonprofit West Hollywood Preservation Alliance, after the commission approval in January.

Roy Oldenkamp, a West Hollywood Preservation Alliance board member, said he’s looking forward to see what 1933 Group has in store for the opening.

“Everything they’ve done before has been beautifully done,” he said.

Through 20 years in business, 1933 Group has created its own niche bringing back some of L.A.’s oldest, unique venues, including the barrel-shaped bar Idle Hour in North Hollywood, Highland Park Bowl and Sassafras in Hollywood. Tail o’ the Pup, a hotdog-shaped hotdog and burger stand that used to be in the Beverly Grove area, is the company’s latest undertaking.

Several key details of Formosa’s origins are unknown, including its architect and builder, according to the city of West Hollywood’s historic preservation records. The construction date is estimated between 1920-29. Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra were among its regulars. Christopher Lloyd and John Cusack, who advocated for landmark designation when the cafe faced the threat of demolition in the early 1990s, were two of the Formosa’s contemporary regulars. It has also made several memorable cameo appearances in “L.A. Confidential” and other movies and TV shows.

The interior was renovated in mid-2015, a little more than one year before the Formosa closed. 1933 Group is working with the grandson of former owner Lem Quon to decorate the new Formosa with the same autographed celebrity photos and other artifacts that used to be on display, and the menu will have a “modern twist” on the Mongolian beef, Beijing chicken and other favorite dishes from the past.

A total of 762 places in West Hollywood have been designated as cultural resources, including 15 that have a national designation.