Aw, that's too bad. I couldn't think of many examples either so that's why I was asking. All I can think of are a few coffee shops that used to be Bob's Big Boys and some of the Denny's still have the original exteriors (sadly the interiors all seem to be "Denny's Diner"). And of course there're some other old coffee shops like the Manor Coffee Shop on West Portal and Curly's in North Beach but those seem more like 30s or 40s places and definitely not Googie. I also loved the Peppermill coffee shops which were more late 70s early 80s but the only locations left are in Reno and Las Vegas.It's too bad everyone is so worried about Starbucks et al putting local (IMHO often crappy) "espresso" cafes out of business when it's really the classic American coffee shop--something that is truly unique to the US and California--that's endangered.
BTW I believe that Lyon's was originally Emporium-Capwell's in-store restaurant. The Lyon's inside the Emporium in Mountain View had been closed for years but never removed--it was just roped off--so you could fully view the intact 60s interior. As I recall it was a lot of red: red velvet booths, red carpet and loads of red naugahyde (sp?). Even the ropes they used to rope it off were red LOL. And all of that surrounded by dark wood paneling (or veneer?). The (massive) building is shuttered up but still standing and wouldn't I love to break in and see if anything's left of the interior. Anyway, that store was a real time warp, even in the late 80s it still looked like the 60s. Would've made a great "the way it was" type of museum.
Sorry so wordy but I have a lot of interest in this subject.
--Previous Message--
: Alas, there aren't a lot of good
: examples left in the Bay Area.
: Several have closed in the 13
: years I've been living here,
: including a couple of great places
: in Oakland...
:
: Now we're in the process of losing
: all the original Lyon's locations
: as well. This was a
: Peninsula-based chain (although it
: eventually spread as far as
: Fresno) whose original prototype
: was designed by Armet and Davis,
: the classic Googie team who did so
: many of the best spots in SoCal
: (including the late, great Ship's
: Westwood, if I recall correctly).
: You can still see some of the
: buildings from this prototype in
: Millbrae (closed), San Bruno, and
: Hayward (now Asian places). One's
: being dismantled as we speak in
: Daly City...
:
: I'm drawing a blank on any really
: good examples which are still
: serving coffee shop fare...
:
: --Previous Message--
: Hi David,
:
: I have a question for you:
: What are some of the classic
: coffee shops in California,
: specifically in the Bay Area? I'm
: thinking of mid-century
: 50s/60s/early-mid 70s places like
: Pann's in LA (http://panns.com/).
:
: I thought since you're into
: classic grocery stores you might
: know about this subject, too. I'd
: really appreciate any info.
:
: Thanks!
:
:
:
:
"
