Scenes From Bob's Big Boy, 1960s
For today's "Anything Goes Saturday", I wanted to share some wonderful photos that Sue B. sent to me - pictures taken by her cousin Stu in the early 1960s, when he worked at a Bob's Big Boy restaurant as a fountain man (he started in June of 1963). I think these photos are a truly wonderful behind-the-scenes look inside a Bob's Big Boy.
There's Stu himself to the left, with two coworkers. Hopefully pals! I wonder if Stu kept in touch with them over the years?
This fellow is hard at work at an adding machine. I'm wondering if he was a waiter who had to keep track of his own billing? He looks like a character right out of sitcom from the era. He probably was sweet on one of the waitresses who secretly liked him too.
I wonder if the man in the plaid coat (and apron!) was the manager of this particular restaurant? Everyone seems to be one happy family.
Working in the kitchen is hard work, and messy, but these fellows were up to the task!
Cooks, busboys, wait staff... it takes a lot of people to run a busy restaurant. I like the checked toques, presumably a nod to Big Boy's checked overalls.
Say, this is completely against all restaurant regulations! I'm going to report these guys to the International Coffee Shop Commission (or ICSC). Notice the fellow in the lower right still manages to keep eating his sandwich.
It's hard to say for sure, but this feels like it's late night, when the customers have mostly gone home, and now it's time to tidy up for the next day.
Order UP! Business is booming look at all the plates on the counter waiting to be whisked off to a nearby table. Double-decker hamburgers, fried chicken, shrimp, steak sandwiches... all the good stuff!
It sure seems like there was some great camaraderie! From what Sue has told me, cousin Stu had a long and very successful career with Bob's Big Boy restaurants.
MANY THANKS to Sue for sharing Stu's photos with us!
16 comments:
Major-
It does look like 'great fun'; but undoubtedly hard work.
Notice the 'dial lock' on the telephone in the 2nd image. And that box of 'Karl's Shoes' in the 3rd image. That's Harry Karl - who at the time of these images was married to Debbie Reynolds - who over the course of their 13 year marriage, managed to lose not just all of his money, but also all of hers [Reynolds], leaving her massively in debt.
In the 'human pyramid' image, not only is one guy eating a sandwich, but the fella at the opposite end is smoking-!
Thanks, Sue, for sharing these great images with us.
What fun pics! Funny, when I saw the hanging spin-y wheel-y thing for kitchen orders, I thought, "Order up!" And then you actually said it, Major. We used to yell that into the kitchen at Knott's, when there was nobody back there and we were putting in an order. We didn't have the fancy wheel with the clips though. We just had a spindle. You had to be careful with the spindle, or else you could stab yourself in the hand when putting in an order. Speaking of "Knotts" and "spindles," there was a guy on Knots Landing who died, by falling backwards onto a spindle. Donna Mills thought her daughter killed the guy and her daughter thought that she killed the guy. Donna Mills tried to cover up for her daughter, by burying the guy's body in wet cement. It was really dramatic, I tell ya!
Thanks for sharing these behind the scenes pics of Bob's Big Boy, Sue, Stu, and Major, too!
Yes, there certainly does look like a lot of camaraderie here. Plus some good-natured hijinks. And yes, it was hard and hectic work.
About 11 years after these photos were taken I worked as a cook in a buffet-style restaurant for 5 and a half years (and other cooking jobs thereafter).
I recognize a lot of the equipment used in these pictures, like the deep fryer with the baskets parked above the hot oil/shortening. I wonder if they had a pressure fryer for the fried chicken; à la KFC? At the end of the night, we had to filter the oil to get all the browned bits out of the pressure fryer. And to wash the fryer out by pouring water in, along with some sort of powdered soap. Turn the fryer on, bring it all to a boil, shut off the fryer, and drain the gunky water out into an empty stock pot. (It was poured down the sink, not kept as soup, haha.) You had to keep an eye on the water-filled fryer as it heated up. If you waited a few seconds too long, the fryer would boil over and get a couple gallons of greasy soapy gunky water all over the floor; which took an extra half hour to clean up before you could go home... not fun... it happened to me twice... once was one time too many.
I remember one time when I was training a newbie, there was a pan of chow mein that needed to be thickened. I told him to make a slurry of water and cornstarch. When he added it to the chow mein... nothing happened; it didn't thicken. I told him to add some more... still nothing. About that time our manager came by to see how things were going. I told him the chow mein wasn't getting thick. After a few seconds of thinking, he stuck his finger in and tasted the soupy mess... Turns out, the newbie used powdered sugar instead of cornstarch to make the slurry. The chow mein was candy-sweet and wasn't salvageable. We had to throw it out. Boy did our manager come down on that newbie! (It wasn't his first mistake.)... Good times!
In the "Order up!" photo, I see some onion rings on one or two of the plates.
Thanks to Lou & Sue & Stu. Major, you don't get thanked today because your name doesn't rhyme with Lou & Sue & Stu. ;-p
(But thanks anyway!)
These are all great, but I find the second photo absolutely fascinating due to all of the amazing details. The Western Electric 302 on the desk (with a dial lock, as Nanook noted). Two Victor 700-series adding machines, the one facing us from the 1950s and the one facing away from the 1940s. The stapler wedged underneath the adding machine closest to the camera and another stapler next to the phone. On the other side of the phone, a stack of…paychecks? Deposit slips? Counterfeit $15 bills? A reloadable tape dispenser in front of the phone. A full cup of coffee next to the near adding machine. And that’s just on the desk.
In the back corner, there are a couple of sugar shakers being stored or used as paperweights, with a (probably) empty salt and/or pepper shaker laying on its side. Below that, a full trash can. And then two 5-5 lb. bags, full of…something. Possibly rubies, emeralds, or battery acid.
And then a 1963 Pan American calendar presiding over the whole show.
I’m exhausted after appreciating just one photo.
Thanks again, Lou & Sue & Stu!
Chuck, and not a computer in sight!
Photo 8 really hits with me, the order tag carousel, the lights on the service bar, and the concrete breeze block wall seen through the window, a classic Bobs detail.
JB, what a story! I’ve never done kitchen work as a living, but I’ve waited tables in the Elks Club and washed dishes as volunteer work at Scout camp, and a couple of years I was the chef for the Boy Scouts Pancake Breakfast. A lot of fun to do for a switch from desk work, but I’ll bet it gets tiring as the daily grind.
Props to those guys who don’t let hijinks interfere with a snack and a smoke. What a big crew!
I waited almost an hour for my takeout order last night, one of my favorite spots downtown, the whole restaurant was was full and only one waitress covering it all. I almost stepped in to help her clear tables she was so swamped. But everyone was very kind and patient, not like some I’ve seen in similar situations recently. Seems like all the restaurants are just crushed these days and people so rude. I found out that the newspaper had run an article on the place and everyone rushed out to try it that same night. I’m glad they’re busy, but golly…
Thank you, Lou, Sue, Stu and Major too!
JG
I really like these, happier times for sure. In the third photo, check out the waitress with the cool glasses. My mom had a pair similar to these, and I thought they were so neato cause they had wings. Now, I too need glasses, but I can't find anything quite as way cool as those. When I cook I always wear a toque, even when camping. I look very dashing, plus it keeps the bears at bay. Better than bear spray, I tell ya! Many thanks to Lou and Sue and Stu and Major P.
Chuck, I also studied that photo for quite a while. Maybe that stack of $15 bills are guest checks with each party's bill total for the day. Which then had to be added-up and compared to the total in the till to see if they matched. I noticed the two staplers (more?) The sugar shakers in the in/out box, and clipboards... lot 'n lots o' clipboards.
JG, and I didn't even mention the time I almost blew myself (and the building) up with a pizza oven!
Yeah. it's amazing how little most of the kitchen equipment changed between this and my restaurant-cooking days.
#6 - I knew it was a franchise, but I didn't know it was a pyramid scheme! (I'll show myself out.)
Thanks to Lou and Sue, Lou and Sue's Stu, and the Major, too! (And to the trusty Oxford comma.)
Well, I see everyone saw what I did...that dial lock right off the bat and on from there. I asked myself how familiar much of this looks to me from my days at Hills Brothers about 6 years later. One good thing for me is that we didn't have a deep fryer, only a grill. No fries...just potato chips. Imagine having potato chips there for the taking...all day too. That is after the breakfast menu was over.
If Chuck is correct, we have an exact year these were taken...that being in 1963. One thing that seems to run true is the camaraderie of the staff. We also were a tight knit group who could take time out for pictures like these...after hours of course.
Thanks Lou and Sue and Stu. You brought a smile to my face today. KS
Nanook, I’ve never worked in a restaurant, but have no doubt that it is very hard work much of the time. Interesting about Karl’s Shoes, I was aware that Debbie Reynolds had had a husband who wiped out her money, but didn’t know much else about the situation.
TokyoMagic!, I wonder if they had one of those bells that you would ring when saying “Order Up”? You know, like the kind they have on a concierge desk. I enjoy the idea of a person spindling their hand, that’s good for a laugh. I have a very highly developed sense of humor. “Knots Landing”, another show I have never seen… sounds like one of the greatest dramas of all time!
JB, I’ll bet you can whip up a delicious meal in no time! Or at least I’d like to believe that you could, with all of your skills. Pressure fryers sound like a lot of trouble, they should have cooked the chicken through friction. Just my opinion. Oh my gosh, powdered sugar in chow mein… yuck! Reminds me of when we went to a restaurant (very dark inside) and my brother ordered some ribs. He proceeded to slather them with “BBQ sauce”, which turned out to be syrup. You know what? He still ate it. Onion rings, my favorite, I’ll take those over fries any time.
Chuck, I do love that old “tech”, it has a charm that is very appealing. Part of me would love to find an old 1970s calculator, one that probably cost $400 brand new. I love that vintage styling! You can’t have too many staplers, though you need at least one red stapler. It’s the law. I assume that the piles of paper is currency, carefully sorted. Good eye on the 1963 Pan American calendar (and good detective work)!
JB, it makes me sad that many classic coffee shops in Los Angeles have closed, often so that “luxury condos” can be built on the lot. Just what we need! Rich people have a hard time finding places to live, I hear. I would only agree to be a chef at a diner or coffee shop if I could have a cigarette in my mouth at all times. I have my rules. I’m glad to hear that people were nice and patient at the restaurant you were at the other night - that poor waitress. Darn that article! I used to hate it when a local paper would publish their annual “Best of L.A.” issue, because the hidden gems were no longer hidden.
Jonathan, those cat’s-eye glasses are great, I agree! My aunt used to wear those, and continued to long after they fell out of fashion. Instead of glasses, why not get one of those visors like Geordi La Forge wore? The toque is a great idea, I’m surprised that no hip-hop artist has adopted a toque for their “look”. In my opinion you should not have almost blown yourself up with a pizza oven. I’m controversial!
Melissa, now that everything is cooked using nuclear ovens, things are pretty different. A steak will be done in 14 seconds! “Pyramid scheme”, I don’t even know what to say. Should I laugh? Or cry?
KS, yes, the Hills Bros. coffee shop did not offer the full menu that a Bob’s Big Boy did; still, my toque is off to you for all the hard work. Potato chips were just there for the taking? Not for customers, I assume? I am sure that Chuck is correct with the 1963 date… he a regular Sherlock Jones.
I shudder to think of all the times we nearly burned that kitchen down. When it got slow we'd play a couple rounds of Throw It In The Fryer And See What Happens. Ice cubes, or snowballs in season, made a nice, noisy display. And there was one guy whose favorite hobby was spraying various aerosols through a lot match to see which one made the biggest column of flame (oven cleaner FTW). It didn't help that the ventilation hood over the range was just nailed up there and not connected to anything. But it fooled the health inspectors.
Toque would be a good word for Wordle.
Thanks Lou, Stu, Sue and you, Major.
Zach
Look at the guy in the middle, in the first picture. He also appears in several of the other photos - with that exact blank look on his face. I hadn't noticed that before. He was probably a ton of fun, but he doesn't look very happy ever, here.
1963 sounds right, as Stu would be 19 in this photo. He stayed with Bob's for 40+ years (working at different locations). As you may see in future photos on GDB, Stu was loved by his co-workers. I didn't know a soul who didn't like him. Very soft spoken, gentle spirit, loved to laugh. And he LOVED Disneyland!
I enjoyed reading about everyone's food experiences. It's interesting how many of us worked in the food industry at one time or another. I did, for a short while, right out of high school. While working a full time job, I also worked two other part time jobs - one being in a coffee shop as the hostess/cashier - and I also made the ice cream sundaes for the customers who sat at the counter. A couple evenings a week, I enjoyed chatting with the regulars - and made lots of Tin Roof Sundaes for the teens and adults (the little kids loved the bubble gum ice cream - full of bits of colorful bubble gum).
I'm glad you enjoyed these photos. Thanks to you, Major.
Sue, it's too bad we didn't get to hear from your cousin, Stu, here on GDB. If I did my math right, he was only 9 years older than me (I was born in '53). He should still be here with us, regaling us with his Disneyland memories! I guess it wasn't meant to be.
Also, Andrew has posted his Tomorrowland trip report on his Bayern Kurve blog.
JB, yes, sadly, Stu passed away in 2014. I miss him, and my dad especially misses him, as they were very close. Stu would be thrilled to know we are enjoying his photos and slides.
Now, I'll head over to Andrew's new post...thanks for the heads up.
Major...those potato chips came in large bags so we would just reach in and put a handful on guest's paper plates along with their sandwiches. These days, it all comes in individual packages. Imagine...we all survived...guests included...with us reaching into a common bag with un-gloved hands to place the chips on the plate. Just like the cheesecake, some of the chips would mysteriously disappear at irregular times of the day.. LOL. KS
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