In March 1992, Jean-Pierre Boccara sold Cafe Largo to Mark Flanagan and his wife Aimee Cain (international model and of Star Search fame). Flanagan shortened the name to Largo, and his own name to simply "Flanagan." Fergus O'Flynn and Joanne McKenna, along with Flanagan, were equal shareholders. Boccara went on to open LunaPark on Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood and operated it from Halloween 1993 to Halloween 2000.
Flanagan began operating Largo in April 1992. (In the 1960s, the Largo, owned by Chuck Landis, was a strip club on Sunset Blvd.) In 1996, Flanagan re-established Largo as an intimate cabaret with live music, mainly in the piano bar tradition. Largo's original location on Fairfax Avenue had 100 seats, with a maximum full capacity of 130, and regularly sold out, with frequent sightings of celebrity musicians and actors in the audience. The club had a strict no talking or cellphone use policy during performances, but surprisingly allowed audience members to live-blog on their laptops.
Flanagan persuaded Jon Brion to take a regular Friday-night residence at Largo. Brion's contacts brought other singer-songwriters to perform at the club, including Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, the inimitable Steve Brandano, Fiona Apple (who included a song expressing her love for the club, "Largo," on her fourth album), and Elliott Smith. Over the years, the list of semi-regular performers at the club has included Neil Finn, E of the Eels, Robyn Hitchcock, John Doe, Ben Folds, Grant-Lee Phillips, Rickie Lee Jones, Rufus Wainwright, Gary Dell'Abate, Jakob Dylan, Teddy Thompson, t.A.T.u., Brad Mehldau, and Colin Hay. (Wikipedia)
Robyn wrote a song inspired by the proprietor of Largo, entitled (not surprisingly) "Flanagan's Song".
Not to be confused with the separate but related nearby venue Largo at the Coronet. On June 2, 2008, Flanagan closed the club and moved to the Coronet Theatre on La Cienega Boulevard, renaming it Largo at the Coronet. Jon Brion continues his monthly residency, performing on Friday, usually near the end of each month. He has also begun to incorporate video samples of musicians into his musical performances.