Recently in Eateries past Category

Reader Susan Rose Fenske wrote recently from Brownsville, Ore., after finding my blog while searching for historical Pomona stuff. She attended Pomona High before graduating from Ganesha High in 1959. After her 50th high school reunion, she began thinking about times gone by.

And those included Seapy's, a restaurant on East Holt near the old Pomona High.

"I used to go here with my friends and order mashed potatoes and gravy and chocolate cream pie. I loved those two things and ordered a la carte," Fenske writes.

"I understand the restaurant has been gone for many, many years now. Do you know of any pictures of the restaurant when it was as it was?"

Bruce Guter of the Pomona Public Library couldn't find any photos of the restaurant but he did find the charming advertisement at left in the 1956 Pomona High yearbook.

Anyone remember Seapy's?

Joseph Ross wrote recently with a reminiscence of Pomona's old Taco Lita stand:

"It was a small taco place, obviously, located on Holt Avenue, not far from St. Joseph's Catholic Church (though on the opposite side of Holt as St. Joe's). We would go there a lot when my mom didn't feel like cooking and bring their awesome tacos home. I have great memories of them as the original comfort food.

"One of my old high school classmates, Steve Julian, now a commentator on KPCC - NPR Radio, actually sent me some little packets of their sauce from what looks like their remaining store in Arcadia, I think.

"My dad remembered that their tacos were 4 for $1, and on Fridays during Lent, when Catholics weren't supposed to eat meat, they were 5 for $1. Imagine!"

Anyone else want to toss in their 2 cents on Taco Lita?

I was in the MT 60 Plaza in Chino on Tuesday, picking up a comic book at Comic Madness on my way back from lunch at Flo's Airport Cafe, when I was startled to see a giant banner above the Tamale King sign saying the space is "Ideal for Restaurant."

Uh-oh. A closer look shows the storefront is cleared out. A clerk at the comic shop said Tamale King left earlier this month.

There's no farewell sign or message to customers, but the extensive legend painted on the window says the business was founded in 1969 -- 40 years ago -- and asserts: "We are the original and only Tamale King in the Chino Valley. Come in and taste the history of our family."

A December 2008 feature on the restaurant can be read if you click below.

Is the "original and only" Tamale King really gone, and why?

Reader Elizabeth Ertel alerts us that Mama's Grill, a Greek restaurant on Haven Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga, near Arrow Highway in the JC Penney Outlet center, is closed.

I had a good meal there a few years back and that's all I know. Anyone eat there or know anything about the place?

Reader Bob Butcher left a comment on our ever-popular Things That Aren't Here Anymore thread recently -- part of our Reminiscin' category -- which prompted a response from his old friend and former Taco Jiffy employee Sally (Switzer) Lasby.

Taco Jiffy? Turns out that's the forerunner of today's Taco King, the place on Foothill in Upland with the charming sign with a cactus and the motto "Home of the Bean Special."

I reconnected the two of them and Bob us sent the following e-mail. I'm presenting a portion of it here, lightly edited, because it may bring back memories for some of you. For the rest of us, it's an entertaining read. Take it away, Bob:

"Do I remember Taco Jiffy? I spent five years of my life there pumping out Mexican delicacies to the public.

"I fondly remember some of the 'special customers,' like the group that came weekly from Otis Elevator in RC (not here anymore). The Hells Angels roared in weekly. They had just recently formed and were headquartered in an old stone house in north Rancho Cucamonga.

"And then there were the 'frantic' 10 Cent Taco Monday Nights! A prominent coupon in the Daily Report TV section produced really long lines of hungry bodies. Then there were the frequent visits of Vince Vella, better known as "Little Oscar" (the world's smallest chef) and the famed Oscar Mayer Weiner Mobile. They parked it in front of the place and Vince gave the kids OM whistles and then came inside where my Mom would fix him a vegetable tostada.

"Across the street from Taco Jiffy was Weitzel's Yum Yum Burgers and Frostees (not here anymore), home of the fantastic Atomic Burger -- gigantic and delicious. And east of that, the original Noble Inn (not here anymore). All of this was just east of Bill's Ranch Market (not here anymore), the Chevron gas station (not here anymore) -- and across Foothill Blvd was/is Upland Memorial Park.

"Do I remember Taco Jiffy? You better believe I do!!!"

Wasn't that fun? Thanks, Bob.

In today's column, Ontario Councilman Jim Bowman mentions having worked as a dishwasher at Eader's Bakery while at Chaffey High in the 1960s. Kelly Zackmann of the Ontario Library's history room turned up this image from the 1967 Ontario phone directory. Eader's was near Wag's, later Molly's, a soda fountain and diner.

The original Pioneer Chicken location in Echo Park closed recently after four or five decades in business, according to the Eastsider LA blog (via LA Observed). The fried chicken stand took its name from the Pioneer Market that originally stood next door.

There are said to be a few lingering Pioneer Chicken restaurants, including one in Silver Lake, but most were sold off to Popeyes in the 1980s after the chain slipped into bankruptcy, Eastsider says.

The above-pictured Popeyes on the corner of East Holt and San Antonio avenues in Pomona is a former Pioneer Chicken. Dig the floor to ceiling glass -- very mod. (Photo shot from my car window Thursday after lunch at a better chicken stand, Donahoo's.)

These images may bring back memories: a photo of a Pioneer stand and the chuckwagon logo.

Anyone want to share memories of Pioneer?

We've talked about Stinkey's here before, a still fondly remembered burger joint on the northwest corner of Foothill and Mountain back in the day. You can read those comments here.

Kelly Zackmann of the Ontario Library reports that, according to city directories, Stinky's first appeared in 1948, at 1214 W. Foothill Blvd. The later directories spelled it Stinkey's. There are no listings beyond 1968. It was owned by Jack A. Kermott.

Here's a fresh comment from Larry Hernandez, who e-mailed in response to my column on RoVal's to reminisce about Stinky's/Stinkey's:

"I loved the story on long-gone eating places that readers remember very fondly. This brings to my mind very vague, almost lost memories of a diner called Stinky's that used to be on Foothill Boulevard in Upland, west of Euclid.

"I cannot remember very much about the place but I can vividly recall how tasty and wonderfully smelly the hamburgers were when they came right off the grill. Being 51 years of age, I was a mere boy, perhaps 5 or 6, when my dad or mom stopped by to pick up a quick takeout dinner. I think we ate in the parking lot. My dad and mom never ate inside, perhaps a holdover from earlier times when Mexican-Americans hesitated to overstay their welcome in many local establishments, like the Ford Diner that used to sit on the southeast corner of Holt and Euclid.

"The place must have shut down shortly thereafter, because I cannot recall it being there when I passed by the spot in the late '60s and beyond.

"What I recall is a smallish diner, set back from the road, with lots of empty fields around it, and huge old eucalyptus tree windbreaks still in the vicinity, probably bordered with piles of 'Upland potatoes.' The parking lot may have been unpaved. I think it was on the northwest corner of Mountain and Foothill.

"What I cannot forget is the feel and taste of toasted buns off of the grill and the pungent odor and taste of the onions the cook placed over the beef patty. Stinky's hamburgers set the standard by which all other burgers are still judged in my mind. I don't know what the cook did with those onions, but I have never encountered the same again.

"Could you give a shout-out to other readers about their memories of Stinky's? Perhaps the secrets are hidden away in the papers of some family that had a connection to the owner or the cooks."

Wasn't that nice? I've alerted Larry that he really ought to visit this blog. But if anyone has anything to add about Stinkey's, feel free to post a comment below.

Chaffey High alumnus Dave Linck reminded me of a couple of oldtime Ontario restaurants: one that may be the original Inland Valley pizza parlor, or darn close to it, and a beloved burger emporium with a buffet line of condiments.

Take it away, Mr. Linck:

"Here are a couple old Ontario places to jog the bloggers:

"Valenti's Fine Foods on South Euclid: One of the few places in the early '60s to serve pizza. I had my very first pie there, served by owner Phil Valenti, whose brother, Frank, ran the Texaco station on Holt near Vine. Both places are long gone. The pizza was amazing, with so much mozzerella (and fresh oregano) it ruined me for all others to come.

"Another long-gone fave was O'Reilly's Buffet Burger on Holt near Mountain, which is now housing The Paint Bucket. O'Reilly's was beloved among we kids because they sent you a coupon for a free 'Buffet Burger' on your birthday. O'Reilly's served burgers, broasted chicken and dip sandwiches.

"There was a 'buffet bar' where you could dress your burger as you liked, as well as a twin 'sundae bar' where you could do so with ice cream sundaes. It was always crowded and I am sure lots of people will respond with their own memories of this long-gone icon of burger cool."

I'm sure they will too. Readers?

RoVal's was a steakhouse in what's now Rancho Cucamonga from the '50s through the '70s. The co-proprietor, RoVal Jones, died Jan. 23 at age 89, according to an obituary in the Bulletin today. She and her late husband, Jack, ran RoVal's.

RoVal's opened in 1955 at 8689 9th St. in Cucamonga and remained there until about 1960. (The address went on to become Red Griffin Inn, Case de Mayo and then, in '68, Cask 'n Cleaver.)

Meanwhile, a new location opened in 1959 at 11871 Foothill Blvd., on the southwest corner of Rochester, across from the old stone house and winery.

RoVal's was known for its smoker and the chargrilled steaks it turned out. The ad accompanying this post is from the 1980 Yellow Pages, perhaps the last year the restaurant was in business, although it was after the Joneses sold it. From there it became -- oh, the ignominy -- the Cowgirl Topless Theater. (The latter lasted until 1992 and was demolished sometime later. A Denny's now marks the approximate spot.)

Thanks to Kelly Zackmann of the Ontario Library's Model Colony History Room for much of the above, including the cool ad. The rendering up top came from the Jones family and depicts the first location.

I'm going to try writing a few lines for Friday's column, or maybe Sunday's. In the meantime, anyone remember the place?

Remember the Noble Inn in Upland? If you were around from 1953 to 1964, you might. Joe Mannella does, and for good reason:

"I happened to come upon your blog looking for more information about my dad's restaurant, The Noble Inn, 1171 E. Foothill Blvd. in Upland. Those were the good old days. He was a baker and it opened in 1951 as a bakery. Bringing in partners they opened The Noble Inn in 1953 using freshly baked bread. A huge sign on the top of the building read 'Eat the Noblest Sandwich of All.'

"Dad sold the Noble in 1964 to a cheese company. Years later they tore down the old building and built a new restaurant with the cheese warehouse factory in the rear. Everything was torn down a few years back and I believe a hotel now exists there."

A & J Cheese Co. had the 1171 address, I think, until a couple of years ago when it was torn down in favor of a medical building.

Over the years oldtimers have mentioned the Noble Inn to me fondly. Anyone else recall it? I love the rooftop sign.

I haven't done one of these "remember when" posts in a while, but with the opening this week of Don Marcos Mexican restaurant at 10276 Foothill Blvd., Rancho Cucamonga, this seems like a good time to recall the long-lived restaurant in this building: Socorro's.

Socorro's was established in 1969 at 9671 Foothill (at Archibald) and moved in 1981 a bit east to 10276, near Haven. It was a popular sit-down Mexican restaurant run by a woman whose first name (I believe) was Socorro. She closed the business in 2001, I think to retire.

The above dates are courtesy of the Ontario Library's Model Colony History Room, where Kelly Zackmann looked through phone books and Criss-Cross Directories for me. The only caveat is because of a '67-'83 gap, she couldn't say for sure if anything was in 10276 prior to Socorro's. Our guess is no, but we can't say for sure.

Sad to say, I never ate there, only visiting a year or two ago to try the Whole Enchilada, which took Socorro's place. Don Marcos, we can only hope, will be an improvement. Interesting that all three restaurants in this building have had Mexican cuisine. It's obviously what the building is associated with in people's minds.

Anyone want to reminisce about Socorro's -- the original location, the later location, the food, the ambience, the owner? To last 32 years, they must have been doing something right.

Several of you have lamented the passing of Noble House, a longtime Chinese restaurant in Rancho Cucamonga at Haven and Base Line. This came up when a couple of readers left comments on my post about Pei Wei's closing. Since then, I got an e-mail asking what happened to them, and heard about it in person from another reader.

The way he heard it, the rent was going to double and the family-run eatery had to pack it in.

Whether that's true or not, I'm sorry to hear Noble House is gone. A source several years ago had recommended them in the same breath as China Gate in Upland, and I'd say both were operating at about the same level. I ate there only a couple of times but I liked the place.

Las Campanas in Rancho Cucamonga also closed recently. It was an ambitious concept, upscale Mexican, but one that seems to have misjudged the market. Or maybe the food just wasn't so hot. I ate there on a preview night, not the best time to judge, and wasn't wowed enough to go back, even though the surroundings were awfully nice.

This didn't trouble me, but I noticed Monday that Togo's in Upland has a "for lease" sign. I ate there once a few weeks ago with two colleagues who, for inexplicable reasons, really liked it. Besides making very average sandwiches, it seemed like a dark, dank hole to me. Well, every place is somebody's favorite.

Anyone have any Noble House stories, or have a favorite eatery close recently?

The Ontario location, 201 N. Vineyard Ave., closed recently, depriving Best Western guests of the chance to walk to pancakes or a cocktail, or both. I got the news from reader Bruce Henning, who said Michael J's had been there for years.

A sign on the door blames a decrease in business.

I ate there once, in 1999, for breakfast with my colleague Monica Rodriguez to commiserate on her recent, and my impending, 35th birthday. The food was serviceable but uninspiring.

There was a second Michael J's at 2315 Foothill Blvd. in La Verne. I tried the phone number and it's been disconnected. Uh-oh.

If memory serves, there was a Michael J's on Foothill in Rancho Cucamonga that several years ago became something else, I think a BC Cafe.

Sounds like the Michael J's mini-empire may be toast. Anyone know any history of the place?

This is a tie-in to today's column on the John Lautner exhibit at the Hammer Museum. Lautner designed the former Henry's restaurant at Foohill and Garey in Pomona.

Henry's closed in 1971 and was demolished in the late 1980s after a stint as a (gasp) disco, but I know some of you remember it in its various incarnations.

"It was some of the most avant-garde architecture the Pomona Valley ever saw," Charles Phoenix told me last week.

Anyone want to weigh in?

Charles Bentley writes to inquire about a fondly recalled Pomona restaurant:

"My father has been trying to come up with the name of a Pomona restaurant that was extremely popular for many years. After many weeks of pondering, he believes the name of the place was Orlando's.

"Can anyone out there help with this one?"

My files indicate that Orlando's was at Holt and Dudley, by the DMV, and was known for its steaks and its dumplings. But it was before my time. Anyone able to tell us more?

One of the Inland Valley's more intriguing building conversions is the former Ponderosa steakhouse at Arrow and Haven in Rancho Cucamonga, which became Ponderosa Dental Office. Yep, they kept the Ponderosa name, pardner.

Reader Brian Hurst tell us a bit about it:

"It was the Ponderosa Steak House back in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Had a Western decor, leather booths, dark wood tables, pretty good steaks. Not on par with Black Angus, but a big step above the Sizzler. If you look at the design of the building, you can see it was a dinner/eating place. 'Food' for thought."

Anyone ever go into Ponderosa Dental? I wonder if any reminders other than the name out front remain.

I ate at a Ponderosa or two in the Midwest in that same era. I assume the chain was an authorized spinoff from the "Bonanza" TV series, which was set on a ranch named the Ponderosa, but never knew for sure.

Personally, I think Rancho Cucamonga's Ponderosa should stay a dental office but go back to serving steaks. It would be efficient. You could eat your meal normally, then sit in a chair and have your teeth cleaned.

Heading south on Central Avenue from Foothill Boulevard on Sunday, I noticed that the late Mi Pueblo restaurant in Upland was half-demolished.

I'll admit upfront that I know absolutely nothing about Mi Pueblo. It's been closed for months, if not years, with a chain-link fence around the property. It's a large-sized, low-slung building on the east side of Central and may once have been popular. It's at 11th Street and Central.

I'll try to follow up with City Hall to see what's planned there. In the interim, anyone know anything about the place?

This was posted recently on the "things that aren't here anymore" thread, but let's give it its own blog entry. Take it away, Judi Guizado:

"I was telling my mom, Jeanette (Acuna) Holsten, about this thread, and she was wondering if anyone remembers one of the first drive-in restaurants in the '40s called Mona's Drive-In, on Holt near Campus in Ontario. Two of her aunts worked there as car hops, wearing short skirts and serving food wearing roller skates. She remembers it was owned by a man named Price Barrett."

Leaving aside the visual of "food wearing roller skates" -- sorry, Judi, I couldn't resist -- we may as well talk about drive-in restaurants.

I hadn't heard of Mona's, but I've written about McDonald's BBQ, a drive-in in Ontario on Holt at San Antonio in the 1940s. It was no relation to the McDonald brothers' operation in San Bernardino. Then there was Mel's at Holt and Palomares in Pomona, which opened in 1952, closed in 1995 and sold burgers initially for 18 cents. And let's not forget A&W on Holt near Mountain in Ontario, which closed in 2006.

Anyone want to share memories of any of these places, or others?

Ever seen a dentist's office that looks a lot like a Taco Bell? Well, perhaps not, but new uses for dead chain restaurants do happen, and you won't be surprised to know there's a website devoted to the phenomenon: notfoolinganybody.com.

Among the more imaginative conversions pictured on the site:

* A Pizza Hut in Canada that became a funeral home. (It's enough to make pizza lovers re-evaluate their diets.)

* A KFC in Oklahoma that became a chiropractor -- but kept the bucket.

* A Waffle House in George that became a piano store with great freeway access.

What I'm wondering is if any ex-chain restaurants in the Inland Valley have been turned into something else?

Non-restaurant uses, as in the examples above, are preferred, but I'll leave it open. As long as the building is at least slightly recognizable as something else, it's fair game. Readers? The KFC bucket is in your court.

The Bulletin on Saturday printed a story about construction in Ontario on Holt Boulevard just west of Vineyard Avenue, said to be the first construction there in decades. Perhaps ever?

What I'm curious about is the location of the former Mural House restaurant, which I'm pretty sure I've been told was at Holt and Vineyard. Was it where Spires now stands? Or the gas station? Or...?

Mural House always seems to prompt fond comments rating it as one of the better, and more striking, old-time valley restaurants. Share what you remember below of the location, decor and menu so we can all be edified.

* Update: Everyone (see comments) agrees the Mural House was on the south side of Holt just west of Vineyard, and thank you for that. No one has yet explained, though, why the Mural House was named the Mural House. Anyone want to tackle that?

There's a green construction fence around the Sizzler restaurant at Fourth and Vineyard in Ontario, a fact that prompts a wistful sigh on my part.

Not that I'm a Sizzler fan. Even though the restaurant was two blocks from the Daily Bulletin, I ate there only once in my 10 years here.

(I ate at Sizzlers growing up in Illinois. The Malibu chicken, which was breaded chicken with a thin slice of ham and swiss cheese melted on top, seemed like the height of sophistication when I was a boy. That's what everyone eats in Malibu, right?)

It was my sole previous visit to the Ontario Sizzler that brings back memories.

In March 1994, I accepted a job at the Victor Valley Daily Press in Victorville and prepared to move there from Petaluma, up in the Bay Area. This was the job that brought me to Southern California.

My friend and colleague Scott Manchester from the Petaluma Argus-Courier helped me load up a rental truck and drive to Victorville. We unloaded my worldly belongings at my new Victorville apartment and I drove him to Ontario to catch a plane home. My intention was to buy him a good dinner but time was running short before his flight, so we went to Sizzler. It was near the airport, which was accessed then from Vineyard.

So, that's why the closing was cause for a sigh. The Ontario Sizzler was the site of my first dinner as a Southern Californian. Not an auspicious beginning, but we all have to start somewhere.

The Cellar, 195 N. Central Ave. in Upland, is gone, which caused me to reflect on the high turnover in that building.

Sneakers was the tenant in the late '90s, the only time I ventured inside. There was at least one other restaurant or club in there between Sneakers and the Cellar, probably two (the name Penguin's comes to mind), and no doubt there were many more before Sneakers.

At one point post-Sneakers an operator had (I think) Jello wrestling matches in a desperate attempt to get customers in the door, until police cracked down.

And yet year after year, optimistic entrepreneurs keep leasing the building, sure they can make something work. In fact, another business already appears to be moving in to replace the Cellar.

Anyone remember previous tenants there?

My column today on Cafe Montclair, the latest restaurant in the building that once housed the Plum Tree, the Majestic, Ginger's Place and, originally, Lizzy's, prompted a note from Bob House:

"Today's column about the new Montclair restaurant got me thinking about Valley restaurants and bars that are no more. Would readers find that an interesting thread? I nominate two from Claremont's past: Stinky's, a burger place on Foothill that lasted into the '60s, and The Midway, an iconic dive bar, also on Foothill, that made it into the '70s. The Midway is featured in Kem Nunn's first book, 'Pomona Queen.'"

Feel free to add to the list, readers.

Two further notes I left out of the column: The hostess at Cafe Montclair, who held the same job at Plum Tree, is Pia Jackson, whose family owned the fondly remembered Di Censo's Italian Restaurant in Upland. And Joanne Boyajian of the Ontario Library discovered there was a Tin Lizzy restaurant on Holt Avenue in Pomona from 1968 to 1970, of unknown relation to the Montclair Lizzy's, which also had a Tin Lizzy theme. Huh!

I wrote recently in my column about Inland Valley mom-and-pop restaurants where you can reliably get a slice of pie: Roady's in San Dimas, the Village Grille in Claremont and, most notably, Flo's Cafe in Chino, where two employees work full-time baking pies, cobblers and other goods for the two Flo's locations.

Co-owner Donna Hughes, who with her husband Paul bought Flo's from founder Flora Slack in 1976, told me post-publication that the bake shop was his idea: "My husband is a big sweet eater. He wanted to have desserts put in, so we did."

What of pie places past? Charles Bentley recalls a few: Chavens in Montclair, which was near the old Holiday Roller Rink east of Montclair Plaza, and the Pie Place in Ontario, on Mountain Avenue in the building now occupied by Home Kitchen.

Then there was Wag's on Ontario's Euclid Avenue and the Hollander Cafeteria at Montclair Plaza, Bentley says. I can add Katie McGuire Pies at Base Line and Archibald in Rancho Cucamonga, now occupied by Dairy Queen.

Any memories of pies past, readers?