Let’s pay one more visit to restaurants and diners of the 1960s with this collection of period postcards. The settings are varied and cover various locations across the US, featuring buildings that go from the plain to the Googie-esque.
Then, in the matter of cars, many images contain a good mix of 1950s and 1960s models. Also, there are a few Caddys and Lincolns in these, plus one Imperial.
Our lede pic is at Lettie’s Restaurant, Santa Rosa, NM.
Dutch Horn Of Plenty Restaurant, Lancaster, PA.
Cactus Pete’s, on Highway 93 in NV.
George’s Restaurant, Galilee, RI.
Mel-O-Dee Restaurant & Dining Room, Sarasota, FL.
Copper Cart Restaurant, Seligman, AZ.
Windjammer Clark’s Marina Restaurant, Seattle, WA.
Zinn’s Country Diner, Denver, PA.
Neat pics. Windjammer had an upscale customer-base, no?
Love these vintages photos.
I thought that too!
Windjammer seems to be a nicely-designed place in a nice location. One architectural drawing (interior) here: https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/ac/id/1766/
Another here:
https://dp.la/item/df92f0d99cda4acf5d2d888ca2f6d324
There’s another postcard (eBay) with more views: https://www.ebay.com/itm/256068885449?itmmeta=01J4S4NNE86J7A9NH09B65WBWA&hash=item3b9ee51bc9:g:2UoAAOSw6EpkCTcQ&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4FI2qdv64YtYGFQSVjSnPLtYCa4swcgqVeyoZZDL4KW%2FwvDoofYpOesCUcgKmmKkkliQPdcNZoolZWtifVkqueGx3Bm2eSDiV3rwTVtjcm88%2BG8QVi6yXt2WosDhVhzPvQS%2BiEDH22m9NFIzr3Hb6Gj%2BiK05sC9K0xUAH6T24sKJbQwU5Ce8XSumeMoWpPEBy3CQ7zqI0CtobFleUmCqHW0iI6zzC%2Bvg%2FLhzLaj7VvZnrtBEpAL9g7Bf3BC6dJfkix0NtuGMsUpQKFOJshOHF916f4cl%2F9ycu3NMBdxDtJrn%7Ctkp%3ABFBMnNfWpKZk
Today’s grouping is a great collection of images *and* automobiles—-which always help date the photos pretty precisely .
I can find little online about this place beyond those two postcards and some matchbooks on eBay, and the architectural drawings. There is a book about its owner though called “Mr. Restaurant: A biography of restaurateur Walter F. Clark”. He started a chain of restaurants after WW2 throughout Seattle, each of them different than the others, with names like Clark’s Top Notch Restaurant or Clark’s Salad House or as here, Clark’s Windjammer Restaurant. Some were fancy, some were basic, and many had very distinctive architecture to catch passing motorists’ eyes. The chain reached its peak in the late 1960s when there were about 20 restaurants open, then slowly dwindled to apparently the only one left, the Pancake Chef near the Seattle-Tacoma airport which opened in 1959 and is still operating, though no longer as a Clark’s.
From what I can tell, Clark’s did reach its peak in the late 1960s, and the Windjammer was its flagship restaurant. In 1970, Walter Clark retired and sold the company to Campbell Soup, which was buying up small restaurant chains at the time. It wasn’t a good move – Campbells didn’t manage the restaurants well, and the Clark’s brand quickly fell out of favor with customers. Campbell sold all of the Clark’s restaurants within a few years, and none regained their former reputation.
Yeah, I likewise came across several references to the Campbell’s Soup buyout that quickly went south. Same with another Seattle 14-store restaurant chain called Herfy’s around the same time, and also with complete mismanagement on Campbell’s part, expanding to the wrong places, etc resulting in them unloading all their old and new stores, some to Whataburger.. There are a few remaining places using the Herfy’s name but they have only a tenuous connection to the original chain. So frustrating how often this happens in the business world – mismanagement destroying a well-reputed and liked retail or restaurant chain that took decades to build. The downfall of Howard Johnson’s is maybe the worst example of this – check out the Wiki article on the restaurant and see if you can even keep track of all the buyouts, mergers, and divestitures HoJo’s went through since 1979 without a big flow chart. Frantic buyouts/mergers/divestitures or big management shakeups every few years is always a bad sign.
Apparently Col. Sanders worked out his chicken spice recipe at one of the Clark’s locations a year before starting KFC.
https://houstonhistoricretail.com/restaurants/herfys-hamburgers/
Sadly the building itself is even gone. Swallowed up by the even larger parking lot needed for the marina. There were two fine-dining restaurants there until recently (Ray’s and Anthony’s) when Anthony’s, still a going concern in town, didn’t renew their long-term lease due to serious deferred maintenance in the mechanical areas of the large facility. At least there’s still Ray’s with its upscale dining room downstairs and cafe/restaurant/bar with a great patio over the water upstairs. The best sunset dining in Seattle.
Upscale, but the Lincolns aren’t quite a coincidence. The photo was taken at the restaurant’s grand opening – that’s the owner, Mr. Clark, and his wife, exiting the convertible.
Mr. Clark was good friends with the owner of Pacific Lincoln-Mercury in Seattle, who arranged for the cars to be there.
Great photos!
Quite a few of these places are still in business. Sadly, it seems that while Cactus Pete’s is still around, the new owners have gotten rid of the terrific signage (which as far as I can tell would be the only reason it’d be worth visiting). George’s is still open in Rhode Island. I can’t tell if it’s in that original building, but it seems likely. That’s such a typical look for a New England shore-side restaurant up through the end of the 20th century.
Only a fool would pay to have a sign painted when the Coca Cola people will give-ya one for free.
Finally, I think I’ve been to Zinn’s Diner…drawn in by their Amish Farmer/Muffler Man (who wasn’t quite an actual muffler man, but you get the point). That’s unfortunately closed now.
The Amish Farmer/Muffler Man outside of Zinn’s was named Famous Amos. After the Zinn family sold the restaurant in 2003, the restaurant was renovated and the 18-ft. tall Amos was removed.
At first he went to a local museum, but now he’s at a resort/restaurant place about 20 mi. away. (It’s Hershey Farm Resort south of Bird in Hand.) Below is a recent photo of Amos in his new setting:
Eric, I knew you’d find him! 🙂
Went to “Zinn’s” in “1980ish”.. “Amos” looks rather at home in his newer surroundings.
Looks like a 1958 Ford Skyliner retractable in front of Dutch’s.
Yes, and the row of cars is bookended by a pair of ‘59 Cadillacs.
I was about to ask, how common would that be, being a 5 year old car and the low number produced?
The Dutch restaurant appears to be a re-purposed Howard Johnson’s “Colonial” style building right down to the sign. Howard Johnson’s moved to a more modern style (Nims design) with an orange roof and ample windows along the front and sides.
Yes, it sure was – opened in 1963 in a former Howard Johnson’s:
“Ho Jo’s” was the first thing I thought of as well.
Always learn something new; there’s a “Galilee”, in “RI”.
Memories! In 1962, my brother, our friend and I stopped at Dutch Horn of Plenty. As for George’s in Rhode Island, it is at the foot of the main thoroughfare that takes you to Pt. Judith. This is a fishing port. George’s now has a second floor which is not recently added. The fish is fresh – it comes off the boats from around the corner. The area is known to Rhode Islanders as South County and comprises the territory from Narragansett west to the Connecticut state line along the southern edge of Rhode Island. People go there to just relax. The Atlantic is not warm but people go inti the waters. As with southeastern Massachusetts, you can order Qua Hogs at the restaurants and bars.
The Mel O Dee Restaurant in Sarasota was right up the road from my grandparent’s house. I ate there…..42 years ago! No idea if it is still there
The guy who drove the black Lincoln to Cactus Pete’s must have had a few too many before he got there.
Ha! Excellent catch.
Red Coach Grills, by Howard Johnson
1970s – Darien CT location where I ate as a kid with my parents and grandmother:
https://www.cardcow.com/images/set848/card00009_fr.jpg
In picture #8 there is an orange ’69 GTO, quite possibly a JUDGE, judging( no pun intended) by the color.
Complete lack of “Corvair’s” & “Vdubs”. Guess they were at “McD’s” or “KFC”.
The Mel-O-Dee closed about 20 years ago but the building itself apparently still stands vacant
Nice pictures, reminds me of all the places I wanted to stop at back then .
-Nate
Windjammer was definitely an upscale place.
Why, as I understand it a meal there might cost you as much as $10.00! EACH!
The Mel O Dee resteraunt in Sarasota might still be open. I remember eating there back in the 90’s, because my friend’s mother worked there. Lost touch with my friend, and strangely, his contact number vanished from my phone! I fear he died.
Herfy’s had restaurants in Texas too, that became Whataburger’s. Mom tells stories of occasional visits to herfy’s, when I was little.
I also noticed the Lincolns at the Windjammer, and the GTO in the last picture. If not a Judge, it’s at least a Carousel Red ’68 or ’69(main difference is rear bumper and taillights, which obviously aren’t visible in this picture!). Definitely a nice collection of postcards, vintage restaurants and vintage cars.
I used to live in middletown and my grandfather used to take me to georges back in the early 60s. Back then georges was a small red place with a counter and a few tables. I loved the lobster roles! I visit RI from the west coast and always go to georges. The place has changed but not the food!
We had a Red Coach Grill on Long Island in Westbury. I actually climbed in the stagecoach one day as a kid. Nothing inside but dust. Im sure I wasn’t supposed to do that.