LA Cafeterias

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Groceteria
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LA Cafeterias

Post by Groceteria »

A kind of sad story in today's LA Times on the demise of cafeterias in Southern California:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... california

If you've never been to Clifton's downtown, I have a feeling you should probably visit soon, before it's converted into a brewpub or a mega-Starbucks or a trendy nightspot to serve downtown's new demographic. I try to get there every time I'm in LA, assuming it won't be there when I return. I even celebrated my fortieth birthday there.

It's interesting that here in the southeast, cafeterias are thriving. They continue to attract young families as well as older people, and many operators are still opening large, new locations. The food quality is high and vegetable-intensive, and they've resistedd the temptation to convert to low-quality buffet-style places.

There's really nothing comparable in California. That's one of the reasons I moved back to NC (and gained twenty pounds in the process).
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Post by Jeff »

I remember the Greenery in West Covina. Its still empty today, and still looks like a Cafeteria inside. Its sad really. I miss them a lot.
rich
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Post by rich »

Cafeterias used to be common in other places: New York City and in smaller cities in the Midwest--places like Indianapolis and its satellite cities come to mind.

In New York, you could find them in places like the Upper West Side, back in the 60s---I remmebre from visiting a sa little kid. By the time I visited NYC as a young adult in the early 80s, they had gone the way of Schrafft's and Horn & Hardart which also were still common then. Horn & Hardart still had some locations in Midtown, but were gone from the NYC of ordinary New Yorkers.

In my last driving trip in the Midwest, I didn't see any cafeterias. In Atlanta, they are dying in the inner/middle areas of the metropolitan area where the remaining ones tend to be poorly run and dependent on the blue hair crowd. The ones in the far suburbs tend to be better run and doing better business. The vegetables at the ones in Atlanta seem to come from a can or from some distant place where they were picked well before ripening. The lack of fresh produce has always seemed typical of the Southeast to me (Nashville was even worse). Even places like Whole Foods seem to have drek with no flavor. Now I go to a neighborhood farmer's market on weekends (walking distance, no less) and buy from organic farmers who come in from Pennsylvania and West Virginia and while paying less than Safeway.
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Groceteria
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Post by Groceteria »

There are still MCL cafeterias in parts of the midwest (Columbus and Indianapolis to name a few), but they're not very good and they seem to be nearing the end of their lifespan.

Atlanta (and much of Florida) suffered greatly when Morrisons was acquired by Piccadilly. The S&S cafeterias of SC and Georgia are hanging on just barely.

But K&W in NC and Luby's in Texas still seem stong. And in central NC, there's actually still pretty intense competition. It's a very cross-cultural thing here: you see young, old, black, white, and brown, well-off and not so well-off.

I've always thought NC cafeterias would make a really interesting sociological study, what with the diverse crowds and the fact that there are so many accidental encounters with old friends, etc. Every time I go to one with my parents, it often takes them half and hour to leave as they get called over to table after table on the way out.

Sorry. The cafeteria phenomenon has always been a big fascination of mine...
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Luby's and Piccadilly

Post by wnetmacman »

Actually, Luby's has been on a major retreat for some time. They have cut themselves in half, closing a good number of restaurants. Now Furr's in DFW and beyond, they still seem to do well.

Piccadilly has been suffering from an identity crisis, somewhat brought on by the aforementioned Morrison's purchase. Piccadilly cut several of their longtime favorites in favor of new marketing, which cut sales to nothing. They had to bring back the Dilly meal to just get some new sales. Their food is great, but the atmosphere and pricing are somewhat prohibitive. I went in a restaurant here not too long ago, and there was one waitress for the whole place.
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Post by runchadrun »

My grandmother used to take me to a cafeteria called Manning's on the old Santa Monica Mall, before it got transmogrified into 3rd Street Promenade. I always had the macaroni and cheese and it always had a crust on the top, which I hope was from baking and not from the heat lamps.

30 years later I've never had mac and cheese that's tasted so good.
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Post by jamcool »

Furr's is still going strong in TX and the Southwest, they are experimenting with a "Fresh Buffet" concept to compete with Golden Corral in a few markets.

And yes the Furr's cafs. have outlived the grocery chain that started them - The Furr's grocery chain died in 2002-03
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Post by Dean »

jamcool wrote:Furr's is still going strong in TX and the Southwest, they are experimenting with a "Fresh Buffet" concept to compete with Golden Corral in a few markets.

And yes the Furr's cafs. have outlived the grocery chain that started them - The Furr's grocery chain died in 2002-03
The Furr's Cafeteria in Redlands CA closed a number of years back. It became an Italian Restaurant. It is now the Auto Club.
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Post by APCO25 »

Groceteria wrote:There are still MCL cafeterias in parts of the midwest (Columbus and Indianapolis to name a few), but they're not very good and they seem to be nearing the end of their lifespan.

Atlanta (and much of Florida) suffered greatly when Morrisons was acquired by Piccadilly. The S&S cafeterias of SC and Georgia are hanging on just barely.

But K&W in NC and Luby's in Texas still seem stong. And in central NC, there's actually still pretty intense competition. It's a very cross-cultural thing here: you see young, old, black, white, and brown, well-off and not so well-off.

I've always thought NC cafeterias would make a really interesting sociological study, what with the diverse crowds and the fact that there are so many accidental encounters with old friends, etc. Every time I go to one with my parents, it often takes them half and hour to leave as they get called over to table after table on the way out.

Sorry. The cafeteria phenomenon has always been a big fascination of mine...
Picadilly has seemed to come out of their near end (filed chapter 13 a few years back) and is very popular around here. In my neck of the woods, the Picadilly on South Cobb Drive in Smyrna always has a crowd, as does the one on Cobb Parkway just south of Southern Polytech State University.

However nothing compares to the Picadilly (IIRC formerly a Morrison's) at the old Cumberland Mall (which now is an athletic shoe store). It used to have the most eloquent goth interior I've ever seen, looked like Civil War Murals in one of the rooms. Recall going there in 79/80, not to mention the Farrel's Ice Cream and game parlor next door. They've given Cumberland a makeover...has a Costco where JCP used to be, a bunch of upscale eateries, but it just isn't the same.
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Hollander Cafeteria Montclair

Post by RandallFlagg »

Does anyone know why the Hollander Cafeterias closed up? I remember the Montclair location inside the mall. The exterior entrance seemed like their bread and butter. When the mall remodeled, they closed the location and moved to an exterior pad, I think where Borders is now. I quit eating there when I moved to the high desert. As a kid my mom took me there all the time. I sure would like to find a recipe for their egg noodles.
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Post by Jeff »

I don't know, but one thing that could have happened is they closed when Furr's cafeteria opened off Indian Hill and the 10.
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enginecapt
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Re: LA Cafeterias

Post by enginecapt »

I took my 28 year old niece to Clifton's last month. I knew she'd love the funky atmosphere as well as the knowledge that she was the 4th generation of our family to eat there. She enjoyed the food and was fascinated with her first trip to Downtown.

The first time I was there was in 1961 when I was 6. My Grandfather took me there for lunch after doing Angel's Flight a few times.

Anyway, I enjoyed my lunch. I had a huge chicken enchilada that was more burrito than enchilada, delicious Salisbury Steak served in a cream gravy, perfect flan custard and a watermelon punch.

I don't know what she had because she's a plant eater. She had plants and a side of stuffing.

The prices weren't what I'd call cafeteria prices, as they were a bit on the high side.
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Re:

Post by hojos »

APCO25 wrote:
Groceteria wrote:There are still MCL cafeterias in parts of the midwest (Columbus and Indianapolis to name a few), but they're not very good and they seem to be nearing the end of their lifespan.

Atlanta (and much of Florida) suffered greatly when Morrisons was acquired by Piccadilly. The S&S cafeterias of SC and Georgia are hanging on just barely.

But K&W in NC and Luby's in Texas still seem stong. And in central NC, there's actually still pretty intense competition. It's a very cross-cultural thing here: you see young, old, black, white, and brown, well-off and not so well-off.

I've always thought NC cafeterias would make a really interesting sociological study, what with the diverse crowds and the fact that there are so many accidental encounters with old friends, etc. Every time I go to one with my parents, it often takes them half and hour to leave as they get called over to table after table on the way out.

Sorry. The cafeteria phenomenon has always been a big fascination of mine...
Picadilly has seemed to come out of their near end (filed chapter 13 a few years back) and is very popular around here. In my neck of the woods, the Picadilly on South Cobb Drive in Smyrna always has a crowd, as does the one on Cobb Parkway just south of Southern Polytech State University.

However nothing compares to the Picadilly (IIRC formerly a Morrison's) at the old Cumberland Mall (which now is an athletic shoe store). It used to have the most eloquent goth interior I've ever seen, looked like Civil War Murals in one of the rooms. Recall going there in 79/80, not to mention the Farrel's Ice Cream and game parlor next door. They've given Cumberland a makeover...has a Costco where JCP used to be, a bunch of upscale eateries, but it just isn't the same.
We must be neighbors. My grandparents' lived near where I do now and I have very clear memories of the Cumberland Piccadilly. It was amazing. Two lines (although the far one was rarely open) and several rooms all with very distinct decor. The one depicting war was scared me to death, but I loved the enchanted garden room. I would love to have pictures of it. It got taken out during Cumberland's early 90s rehab.

I've heard rumor that there might be a similarly decored Piccadilly still operating near Chattanooga.

The Piccadilly (which started as something else) at Lennox survived until early this decade, and I don't think it had been renovated since the 1970s. It was one of the last remnants of old Lennox.
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Groceteria
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Re: LA Cafeterias

Post by Groceteria »

Good article in today's LA Times about Clifton's:

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la ... 4348.story

I'm really encouraged to see that the family now owns the building, at least.
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Re: LA Cafeterias

Post by luckysaver »

Where exactly was the Greenery in West Covina and when did it operate?

luckysaver

ps
The Westfield Shoppingtown once had a Clifton's on the Sears side facing the 10 Freeway - it was the small building attached to the Sears building (former Broadway).
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