Yesterday I read that Beadle's Cafeteria in Pasadena closed after fifty years in business. They were right down the street from work and I would occasionally go there for lunch. The main reasons I ate there -- there was never any waiting in line and the lunchroom was quiet so I could read in peace -- proved to be presages of Beadle's demise: almost nobody was eating there, and the few who were were generally, well, old. The place definitely was not attracting a young new clientele. Beadle's was tucked in the ground level of a parking structure in the middle of a busy city block, and I'll bet not many people even knew it was there. The food was never that great (although they served excellent chess pie), but it was inexpensive and fast and reliable in a mediocre sort of way.
When I was a little kid, my family used to drive out to Claremont every once in a while to eat at a great old smorgasbord called Griswold's. Right at the head of the buffet they served little cubes of red jello, and my sisters and I liked to put them on the warm plates and watch them melt and slide around while we finished loading up; we'd end up with pink juice oozing into our mashed potatoes and Swedish meatballs. Attached to the restaurant was a bakery that sold Scandinavian pastries and smelled just heavenly -- we'd wander around in there while waiting for our table, then invariably visit again after dinner to buy something we'd spotted earlier. Griswold's is now a Buca di Beppo.
Years and years ago there was a smorgasbord called, I believe, Smorgy Boys next door to my current place of employment, where I have worked since 1985. The buffet closed a few years before I started working next door, but their sign remained up for quite some time after that. During my first few years on the job, every now and then some distraught person would come into the bookstore and want to know what had happened to Smorgy Boys -- invariably they had driven from some faraway place with their young family, wanting to share with their own children a restaurant they'd loved as a kid, only to find it boarded up.
All we've got now is Hometown Buffet. Times is hard, man.
37 comments:
I've heard people reminisce about the dear departed Smorgasbord in Pasadena, calling it Smorgy Brothers, Smorgy Boys, even Porky Brothers. Having worked in that bookstore in the early eighties just after it closed, I heard it all from the nostalgic, disoriented former plate-pilers who wandered in. I'm here to tell you, from many years of personal experience in my childhood, that the real name of the place was Perry Boys Smorgy. Perry Boys was wedged between the bookstore and the jewelers, and it's dim interior was populated with vinyl-upholstered poufs and, my favortie, a soft-serv ice cream dispenser. Where has all the meatloaf gone?
You gotta move to Kansas for the smorgasbord. I swear, every other restaurant in Topeka is a buffet of some kind. It about drove my wife crazy (she's not a fan of that type of eatery)...but I definitely enjoyed it when we lived there!
Remember a small chain called "Po Folks"? The only place out west where you could get decent greens and catfish AND moon pies! Thanks for the memories
sarasue.com
please, please, someone tell me if they opened up another place (smorgys) as we knew it for twenty years. i know they moved to garfield exit off of the 60 fwy. we visited there after closing down in pasadena for 5 yrs or so. the arrival of hometown buffet down the street is what did smorgys in, i've been to hometown a handful of times but it doesn't compare, really miss my smorgys. I heard that the owner had moved to hawaii? help please anyone.
It was indeed called Perry Boys Smorgy, and it was AWESOME to go eat there as a kid!
We had one on 82nd Ave, in Portland, Oregon. Had all the ambiance (sans the food fights) of a high school cafeteria. Bug zappers, no-pest strips, blazé food...just to the left of a WalMart cafeteria...
So, there was an AWESOME Perry Boys in San Diego, in Kearny Mesa by what is now the Target, but then was Fed*Mart. The interior was like an old fifties nightclub, with scarlet padded doors, and dim lights, and a roughy two story (valuted) dining area with red draperies keeping out the sun. The food was (as a kid) perfect. Meatloaf on a tray of ketchupy gravy, enchiladas in spicy sauce, carved turkey swiming (again) in salty gravy, obviously reconstituted potatoes, and un-explained heaps of yellow corn. Yes, as described by others, red Jello cubes, and the hugely awesome soft-serve bar topped off every 6-13 year's dream. I'd forgotten the HUGE pictures of the Perry Boys on the wall. Other poeters have left out the giant bowl of red-bound, tiny, FREE bible verse (New testament?) books at the cash register. When did the Kearny Mesa one close? 1980? Earlier? where did the whole chain start, and end?
Hey, Yo ! In Concord, California -- 30 minutes east of Oakland -- we had a Smorgy Boys on Willow Pass Road back in the mid-1960s to about 1972, or so. The sign out front had a chubby, funny little man holding a tray with a chef's hat. Nothing too spectacular, but an institution worth the $1.25 entry fee which was alot of cash to pony up back then. There's a Mickie Dees in the building there today .. and the crowd begins to boo.
When I was in the Army stationed at Fort Ord a bunch of us would go over to Perry Boys Smorgy in Monterey and eat lunch for 50cents. Not sure whether it was military discount or not. Supper was 75 cents. The salads were great. The rest of the food was okay. I liked their fried chicken and would try to eat there at least twice a month. We didn't have a lot of money back then (military pay was meager at best) so Perry Boys was a great for me. I think of that place from time to time. The dining room had tropical plants and water falls throughout the dining room. The buffets were spread out and overall it was a bright spot in the army life. Years were 1969 to 1971. Shame it's no longer in business.
There was a Perry Boys in Santa Cruz, CA on Ocean Street. I know they were open through the '60's and I think they closed by the early '70's. Yes, the food was a little blasé, but most food was blasé back then, right? We would do family dinners there, birthdays, etc. with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. My cousins were a few years older than I was, and I can remember them doing MAJOR damage to the fried chicken and dinner roll platters. That's all they'd eat, plateful after plateful of fried chicken and rolls! And no, they weren't obese, lol! On Sundays they would do roast beef that to my recollection was pretty darn good. My mom detested the place, but we kids absolutely loved it. The soft serve ice cream machine was the bomb!
I miss Griswolds too, it was a great place for starving college students. But Perry Boys was even better. We used to have one in San Mateo where I grew up. As a kid it was heaven as you could just load up on your favorite foods, over and over.
They do have smorgys now but they are called casino buffets. The price has gone up and the selection is mediocre compared to the old smorgys. And not convenient for most of us.
There was a Perry Boys Smorgasbord in Monterey, Ca. on Fremont or Del Monte St, back in the 1960's.
Food was pretty descent. Price was right.
Ate there once, while training at Fort Ord, Ca. in Monterey.
Visited there a few times after the Army, on vacations.
Too bad they are now all long gone.
I remember Griswold's. We use to eat at the one in Redlands quite a bit throughout the 60's and 70's. Later (sometime in the 80's) we'd go to the one in Claremont as well.
I don't have much memory of the food overall; however, I remember their honey-raisin bran muffins. They were the absolute stickiest, gooeyist, moistest bran muffins I have ever eaten in my life. Through the past 30 years of sampling muffins, I still haven't found anything to rival what Griswold's had.
I miss them terribly.
In Sacramento we had Perry Boys, and also (IIRC) Ole Frijole, a Mexican smorgy.
Lechuga&SirGeorgez. - eat yr hurt out ... &Y ru comment YEARS Later on obsolete, defunct, & No gives a poot anymore Dumazz historical feednotes!
I ate there as a kid and I remember the soft-serv ice cream dispenser. Though I recall, maybe just myself and family, calling it Smorgy's
I have the best memories of eating at Perry Boys in Pasadena with my grandparents. We simply called it Smorgys. I remember the vinyl booths and the long vinyl walled entrance. My favorite wasn't the soft serve, it was the jello and the red plastic cups from the all you can eat soda dispenser. I loved playing with that thing. I also have great memories of Griswolds in Claremont. I especially loved the big barrels full of candy in the shoppe. Sigh...a time gone but not forgotten. I'd sure love to see some old photos if anyone had any
Tiffany
I remember the one in Pasadena. I was probably 12 or 13. We loved it. Fried chicken, enchiladas, hello, soft serve, sodas! I recall they had to watch for older women who would pad their purses with fried chicken to take home to eat later. Ha!
In the 70's My dad would take all of us boys and our friends to the Perry Boys in Monterey and in Santa Cruz. We loved our family outing. In the 90s when I was living Honolulu, I was able to eat a lot =at the Perry Boys in Waikiki. Years gone by so fast....
Doing a little reminiscing today. Thought of years past while training at Fort Ord, 1968.
Perry Boys Smorgy was a destination on a Sunday afternoon. Ate there a couple times, while in the Army at Ord.
In early 70's, on a vacation to Monterey, would visit also.
Good food at a great price.
Too bad those great Smorgys are all gone.
My dad was stationed at fort ord from 70-73. I often think of that Perry Boys restaurant. Loved Monterey!
In Sacramento, there were a Perry Boys Smorgy and an Okie Frijole smorgasbord as well. Not for a long time, though.
I worked as a dishwasher and later night janitor at the Perry Boys Smorgy located in Fremont CA during my high school and early college years (late 1960s to early 1970s). It was my first paid job. The food was good, particularly to the high-school age kids who worked there; we were allowed to eat whatever we wanted on meal breaks. I especially remember the fried chicken, salads, enchiladas, sheet cake, and soft serve ice cream. Before I worked at Perry Boys, my parents would take the family to The Pipers Smorgasbord in San Leandro CA.
There was also a Perry Boy’s in Salinas Ca, If I recall it was on South Main st. Enchiladas and soft serve!!
Was there a Perry Brothers on El Camino in San Mateo?
I remember eating at a Perry brothers when I was a kid in the 70s..they would put the kids on a wait scale and charge according to their weight..it would cost my parents 10 cents for me to there
Yes, there was a Perry Brothers smorgasbord restaurant on El Camino Real in San Mateo near Hillsdale shopping center. My family would go there sometimes on Sunday evenings during the 1970s. My brother and I really enjoyed it because my parents were strict about what we ate at home but here we could have anything we wanted.
Bill Blaziek said: Santa Cruz, Ca. in the 60’s, 3 guys, 2 surf boards, VX beetle convertible, sleep on the beach, one meal a day at Smorgy Boys!
South Lake Tahoe had a Perry boys. All of us 18 year olds would meet regularly there to talk and joke around. 10 of us would stack the used plates high on the table. (Never any leftovers) I think the record was 49 or 50. About 5 feet tall! A lot of fun times!
It was near a Pasadena bowling alley? I loved the fried Chicken. I thought it was called Perry's Smorgasbord?
Yes one of my favorites as a child
There was also a Perry Brothers Smorgy in Fairfax, Ca. I used to get the very best sandwiches there... everytime I was in the area.
No mention of Perry Boys South Lake Tahoe right near Nevada Stateline? I worked there as Assistant Dinner Chef for Chef Renee Klopfstein. Okie fried chicken always popular along with Spaghetti with Wine Sauce. We were a great crew wonder if place is still there—appears not to be the case. Wonderful place to work while I was attending South Lake Tahoe High School circa 1965-1966. I was hired at age 16 because I had earned a First Cook Certificate from State of New Mexico. Lotsa snow in Tahoe for a transplant from Albuquerque.
Seal Beach Swedish Smorgasboard was great. Somebody brings that back they’ll make a killing. Ah but that would require effort talent and dedication. Not much of that around anymore. Everyone thinks they should be millionaires for serving slop.
I grew up in hillsdale went to high school in hills dale high and worked at Perry boys Smorgys from 1977 to 1980 it was a great experience and a beautiful place to work and live I have my most fond memories of all the great people I worked with and always hoped to see them again I cooked there I bused tables and washed dishes and cleaned would like to hear from someone who also worked there in that era please let me know thank you
That’s where I worked from 1977 to 1980
My Dad was stationed at Fort Ord 1968-1970. I was a kid but remember going to Perry Brothers Smorgy! I remember eating these large breaded shrimp! If only had a time machine!
Post a Comment