Hills Bros. Coffee House Souvenir Menu
I have a really fun Disneyland souvenir item for you today! This is a give-away menu from the Hills Bros. Coffee House (in Town Square), complete with its original mailing envelope. Send it to your friend Ronnie to make him a jealous as heck! (See some other Hills Bros. menus from a 2017 post).
I should add that these menus are pretty scarce, particularly with the envelope. When were they distributed? Unclear, though the graphic style feels very "early-to-mid 1960s" to me (Hills Bros. moved into the old Maxwell House storefront on June 13, 1958). As you can see, this menu is unusual in its shape - and that's because it could be folded into a three-dimensional building!
After a cursory search, I was shocked to find that I do not seem to have a good photo of the Hills Bros. Coffee House. So I'm sharing this old scan (from an old and crusty scanner) in which you can see the Maxwell House store, at least it gives you an idea of what the actual building looked like. It's just to the right of the yellow and green Wurlitzer building.
Here's the envelope - yes, the tanning at the top drives me bananas, but what can you do?
My plan was to scan this unfolded menu in pieces and then merge them in Photoshop, but the repeating graphics confused the heck out of Photoshop, so I wound up taking a picture with my phone. What is this the Dark Ages??
It really is a menu, in case you were wondering. I find it a little amusing that a number of Disneyland eateries resorted to providing give-away versions of their menus, guests must have walked off with hundreds of the actual examples.
How about a nice ham and cheese sandwich? There's that chopped egg sandwich that doesn't sound so good to me (maybe it was great). Cheesecake, yes please. Wash it all down with an iced coffee or even a fancy Coffee Royale Float.
While I love my readers, I am not willing to fold my menu as designed. Luckily, somebody was selling one on eBay about a year ago, and I saved an image of their example. It looks like a birdhouse married a milk carton and made a baby. Incidentally, this one (without the envelope) sold for $371.
I hope you have enjoyed this Hills Bros. Coffee House menu!
17 comments:
Major-
Ahhh - the days of souvenir menus, with all sorts of fun graphics. This is a beauty - most likely better than the coffee tasted...
Thanks, Major.
Oh Major!! really! Of all the things I’ve ever heard ! ….. a milk carton having a baby with a bird house! I never ! ( sorry I just watch a show that took place in 1932 so I’m all about the “jazz talkin” bi- jingo!!
…… I’d say that assembled menu looks like the devils outhouse!!
Nowadays it’s not uncommon to have restaurants with NO menus … you have to download their menu …. Or sometimes there’s 5 laminated menus the whole restaurant has to pass around. Sooo LOW BROW!
There could be a whole book JUST on Disneyland menus….
The 5th image, where we see the red, outside of the semi-assembled menu, has a Small World facade vibe to it. Or a Soviet version of Small World.
I like the history lesson on the brothers Hills. Wow, 1878; that's even older than me!
"Imported-type Swiss Cheese" I guess imported-type Swiss cheese is different from Swiss cheese that's actually imported. Maybe it was imported from Mexico?
"Chicken of the Sea White Meat Tuna" This was back in the days when it was probably 50% dolphin. Maybe it is today, too; they're just better at lying about it. Hmm, I'm being grouchy tonight. Must be because I skipped my nap.
These menu items do sound pretty tasty. And I do like the graphics, and the variety of fonts.
A birdhouse for very tall birds; storks maybe. I wonder, what does one do with it after it's assembled? Maybe use it as a stand-in for Big Ben in a model railroad layout? I like Mike's idea, "the Devil's outhouse".
A very attractive piece of Disney ephemera, Major. Thanks.
I can say confidently that I have never seen anything like this before.
Major, you have a real find here.
What interesting food items too. I love an egg salad sandwich, but they’re hard to find.
I’ll come back later with more.
Thank you!
JG
Major, what a neat piece of ephemera! But if I were you, I would definitely assemble it. Then I would fill it with hot buttered popcorn. ;-)
Thanks for sharing this with us!
I love stuff like this, but I don't have much. Items like these seem to be scarce. It does look like a birdhouse for sure. Love those early Disneyland graphics. Thanks, Major.
Nanook, while there are some much rarer Disneyland menus, this one might be my favorite!
Mike Cozart, I have to admit that I like “the devil’s outhouse” better than my comparison. I’ve been to plenty of restaurants that want you to scan the QR code with your phone - it somehow feels chintzy. I’d love a book about Disneyland menus!
JB, I see what you mean about the Small World vibe, the artwork for this menu was probably done only a few years before the Disneyland version of IASW. Maybe you can’t say “Swiss Cheese” unless it’s really from Switzerland? Sort of like champagne is supposed to only be from the Champagne region of France. Why did you skip your nap? Maybe your recording of whale songs wore out and you were unable to drift away into a slumber? You forgot about the milk carton parentage of that menu, which would explain the “tall and skinny” aspect.
JG, I’ve had this item for years, and am sure glad that I have it because I don’t recall seeing another one (with the envelope) on eBay or anywhere else for a long long time. I always thought it would be nice to upgrade so that my envelope would not have that tan area, but now I think I can live with it.
TokyoMagic!, when I see the term “hot buttered popcorn” I think of that song from the 1970s. You know the one!
K. Martinez, my friend Mr. X has a LOT of rare Disneyland menus, he’s the person who made me aware that this Hills Bros. menu even existed. I wish I could show you X’s collection, it’s mind-blowing.
@ JB-
" "Imported-type Swiss Cheese" I guess imported-type Swiss cheese is different from Swiss cheese that's actually imported".
I believe it's akin to "Kosher style". What the hell does that mean-?
Well...this is a new find for me. Never saw give-away menus in 1969. Prices are quite close to what they were during my tenure, tho that chopped bacon and egg sandwich was long gone. The cheese was cut manually from a big block. Imagine putting in a day's work on the slicer...or a good portion of it and still having my fingers! And no, I'm not Swiss so it wasn't cut in the Swiss style either! KS
Childhood memory: Commercials ending with, "Head for the Hills Brothers Coffee!" Felt less like an inducement to buy than a cry to take flight. When we were playing with toys, we'd say it whenever Buddy Elephant or whoever ran away.
Tokyo!, using the assembled menu for buttered popcorn is nice, but a better usage would be to fill it with canned sardines, packed in oil.
Major, you're probably right about: Swiss cheese is to Switzerland as Champagne is to France. If so, then the Disney Swiss cheese must have been made domestically. Maybe it was imported from the Anaheim Swiss-type Matterhorn?
There are probably ways to get rid of that tan discoloration. But you would need to try it on some other old envelope first. Personally, I would just dip the whole envelope into sardine oil (see my comment to TM! above) to make the whole envelope the same color.
Nanook, haha! Yeah, either something is kosher... or it's not.
KS, cutting cheese "in the Swiss style" is quite complicated. It involves lederhosen and alpenhorns.
What a nice and interesting piece of Phem. Or Ephlemuerla. The illustration actually looks in the vibe of Rolly Crump. Check carefully. I miss this restaurant as I miss many things, and it just seemed so natural there in the corner of Town Square as it should be. Be it an egg house, or a whatever house. I am tempted to say "eatery" but I do not enjoy the word. I looked it up...it's real and correct so I won't harp on it too much. It's the same number of syllables as Restaurant, so there ya go. The word "Eatery" has been around for some time. I would have to go with the ham and cheese as I am reviled by both egg salad and tuna sandwiches or anything else that is coated in blobs of mayo and thrust onto two pieces of bread. Even if they didn't have mayo, I would not eat such things. I do like eggs and properly cooked tuna, but not on bread. I am fussy. I am not too fussy about cheesecake or coffee with scoops of ice cream so bring those on, please. Or coffee for that matter....I enjoy even the crappiest cup of coffee in the filthiest of places...I will sell my virtue for a good cup of joe. That sounded weird as I re-read, but you know what I mean. It seems that a food location would churn more $$ (from a bottom line perspective) than a pin-a-plush bubble-emporium. I suppose the bean counters are counting their beans and there ya go. Since there is nothing to eat here in Town Square, and Starbucks (I can't even believe I am saying Starbucks on Main Street...) is a living nightmare of the depths of Satan's Hell....it seems that a nice, polite restaurant is needed. Please do not ever thrust a QR code in my face as I will then be jettisoned to Tic Toc or front page of the Post infamy. I do not enjoy QR codes in restaurants. I have been in more than a few lately where in addition to scanning a QR code, you place the order yourself (?) huh? The sticky table without a tablecloth adds to the overall effect of "Klassy Joint". Klassy with a K. I don't get it, but the millennials LOVE to restrict any in- person interaction with humans as much as humanly possible. Hey: I totally get it...and in some places: YES! I don't want to talk to people or be amongst them. But in a "normal" restaurant...some of which have tablecloths...to see the QR code on the table gets me cranky. Disease wise, I believe we are in a much better place now (thank God) so I think we can ease up on the QR mania and invest into some responsibly harvested paper...and please do not laminate...as that is just gross and wet and sticky, and plastic...talk about bad for the earth....wow...I am Mr. Grumpy going down grumpy lane USA...Please:...I would like a nice menu, with a tablecloth, and a cloth napkin, and a nice server who looks, and has the vibe of Ambassador Christina from the other day...with delicious food and a great cup of coffee made in a percolator. Not much to ask. It can even be Hills Bros, who's coffee I have never tasted ever. That I know of anyway. Thanks for the indulgent rant today Major!
Nanook, this blog is “Kosher style”!
KS, I know that the Carnation restaurant gave out miniature souvenir menus, as did the Tahitian Terrace. There might have been others that aren’t coming to mind at the moment! Now I’m wondering if anybody lost a fingertip while slicing cheese from a giant wheel.
DBenson, ha ha, yeah, not the greatest slogan in the world. It was probably thought up by one of the Hills Nephews.
JB, any kind of tiny fish packed in oil is OK by me. I save the oil in a little jar, and massage it into my hair each morning. Cats love me! The tanning is (as I understand it) not much different from being burned by heat, although in this case it is “burned” by being exposed to some acidic piece of paper or cardboard. So there is probably no remedy for the discoloration. Oh well, I can live with it.
Bu, I should ask Chris Merritt if he thinks this menu was designed by Rolly Crump - he was friendly with Rolly and has attributed the artwork of another piece to Mr. Crump. “Eatery” does not sound great, even if it serves the purpose of communicating basic info about an establishment. Maybe bars should be called “drinkeries”? Somehow I think of an “eatery” as being very humble, like a diner. Wolfgang Puck isn’t developing a menu for an eatery. Funny about your revulsion toward mayo-based sandwich spreads - my best friend is the same way. When he was one of my roommates, he would watch me make a tuna sandwich and make rude comments. Meanwhile, he would sometimes eat sardines, which stunk up the place something fierce! I’m not a coffee drinker so I have no relevant opinions about what constitutes a good cup of java. Maybe the number of employees required for an “eatery” makes the profitability lower than a store full of plush toys that just sit there and may require the occasional tidying up? One sad CM versus half a dozen. No idea. It is amazing to see early photos of some Disneyland restaurants, when they used actual china plates, real glassware, real metal flatware, cloth napkins… so civilized. Of course some of the fancier venues still do that (the Blue Bayou), but overall they’ve switched to paper and plastic. I suppose one has to lower one’s standards when eating at a theme park.
Like me, Bu must have skipped his nap today.
Major, I'm tellin' ya, sardine oil will do the trick... and keep you 'regular'.
Bu, I agree. Starbucks belongs in Downtown Disney...NOT on Main Street in Disneyland.
I love that sentence written on the menu, "All of us at Hills Bros. hope your Disneyland visit will be one of the most memorable times of your life."
Yep, so very memorable that we get together here every day to return to our favorite place.
Thanks, Major, for sharing your fun souvenir menu!
I don't go to a restaurant to look at a phone screen, and I flat out refuse to use a QR menu. If you don't have a paper one, I'll go somewhere else. This was one of those useless interventions from covid that restaurant owners discovered would reduce costs and make it easier to update (read raise) prices, at the expense of customer experience.
TokyoMagic!, when I see the term “hot buttered popcorn” I think of that song from the 1970s. You know the one!
Major, yes...I do know the one! In fact, I had to go listen to it on YouTube, just because of the mere mention of it.....it had been a while since I had heard it. When I hear the term "buttered popcorn, I think of the song by the same name, by The Supremes. I had never heard that song, until about 20 years ago. My boss bought a mega 2-disc "Supremes" CD set, and that rarer song of theirs was included on it. It used to play in the office over and over....and over!
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