There's hope that Hollywood Arby's sign won't mosey into sunset; 'Last Blockbuster' sign briefly stolen; Whataburger vs. What-A-Burger legal drama | Retrologist Roadside Roundup
Plus, a Lincoln Highway gas station loses its sign; a new marker will honor Catskills history; a Pizza Hut podcast I appeared on gets an award; and more headlines from the Great American Roadside
As I shared with you on Instagram last week, the iconic Arby’s in Hollywood has closed after 55 years. It’s the same age as the imperiled location down in Huntington Beach.
The news has provoked grief among folks who appreciated this location as a signpost in their own lives and as the delightfully gaudy piece of Americana that it was and still is.
This Sunset Arby’s sign “hits different,” tucked between movie studios and beside a palm tree that towers as a kind of rapturous exclamation point, which is itself an imperiled symbol of Los Angeles.
The operators of this Arby’s know full well how much its closure hurts, because it’s clearly hurting them. One thing they have been doing in recent days is keeping the lights on so people can stop by and get a farwell picture.
In short, a wake is happening at 5920 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
My friend and former colleague Nina Ruggiero, the senior editorial director at Travel and Leisure, sent along this new pic, with the sign lit and the farewell message emblazoned on the readerboard:
Farewell Hollywood. TY for 55 great years.
The location opened Jan. 5, 1969, and had the same owner all this time: Marilyn Leviton, who is 91, and her family. She told KTLA that business was tough for years, the pandemic almost did them in, and new minimum wage laws and corporate equipment requirements proved fatally onerous.
“I’m awfully sorry that it came to this. I think we did a good job for 55 years,” Leviton told Channel 5.
Leviton’s grandaughter also weighed in on Reddit.
General manager Gary Husch told ABC7:
"There's just hundreds and hundreds of posts online that we didn't realize were going to be there," he said. "Just all the great feedback we've been getting is just incredible and we're just... couldn't be happier... and thankful."
Fortunately, the signs are positive for the beloved hat’s survival
Reports KTLA:
“We have a vested interest in making sure the community is happy with what we do with the property, including the sign,” Blake Megdal, whose investment firm owns the building and land, told KTLA 5 News. “As a native Angeleno, it’s important to me.”
Megdal would not reveal any future plans for the property, saying only that the sign will not be dismantled.
Los Angeles has listed the Arby’s sign as potentially historic and eligible to become a local landmark. The city’s online registry calls it an “excellent example of 1960s commercial signage; exhibits distinctive design features that evince the commercial ethos of the era, including eye-catching forms and neon illumination.”
KTLA staff has a vested interest in this Arby’s as it’s right next door to their studios, which supply Sunset with another iconic sign — the KTLA broadcast tower.
It should come as no surprise that celebrities have visited the Arby’s over the years. The restaurant recently made a hilarious cameo on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” — Jimmy and his family surprise pal Jon Stewart with a visit to the Sunset Arby’s. Jimmy is a fan — claiming his 30th birthday party was catered by Arby’s - but Jon has a different — and hilarious — take on an Arby’s-induced assault on the digestive tract.
Interestingly, the old Conestoga wagon is still concealed within the building (you can see the form in this KTLA story, along with a classic picture of the original building).
I’ll keep you updated on the sign’s fate.
Talk about plot twists: ‘Last Blockbuster’ sign stolen, recreated and then returned
Unreal! Someone stole the sign at the Last Blockbuster in Bend, Oregon. The owner, Sandi Harding, who was profiled in the wonderful “Last Blockbuster” documentary, reported the theft on Facebook on June 7.
It’s a sad day today! Someone has helped themselves to our beloved Blockbuster sign from our yard. Sorry many great memories with this sign from the last 20 years I’ve been here. Sometimes people really suck!!
But some people are the exact opposite, and they include Darryl and the Carlson Sign Co. team, Sandi reported just four days later.
It turns out they still had the original file from when the Blockbuster store ordered the sign in 1999 — that’s a quarter century ago if you want to feel old — and created and donated a replacement sign, now back in its familiar spot on a grassy mound beside the store.
Last week, Bend police got their hands on the old sign, based on a tip. The sign will now remain inside the store for safekeeping. No word on where the sign was, but Harding said she has no plans to press charges.
Below is my essay on The Last Blockbuster, from my visit back in 2021:
Back in May, 2021, I did something I hadn’t done since 2007 or so. I made it a Blockbuster night. On my epic road trip through Oregon, I visited what has become known as The Last Blockbuster.
This is where the once ubiquitous video-rental chain is making its last stand, in Bend, Oregon, a long, torturous drive through valleys and mountains from Portland, but worth the trek.
Blockbuster was one of the highlights of our trip. Indeed, it helped inspire it. After I watched the Last Blockbuster Movie on Netflix (I know, the irony) I knew I had to see the store for myself.
It felt like catching up with an old friend, one you hadn’t seen in a long time, one you didn’t realize you missed, one that perhaps you’d taken for granted, but one you knew you’d probably never see again.
The store has become a media darling since the documentary went viral, and reels in a steady stream of tourists. It even became an Airbnb last year. A local who works at the airport in Bend told me he’s noticed an uptick in tourists visiting Bend -- a beautiful city long popular with outdoorsy types -- simply to pay homage to the Blockbuster. Well, we were proudly among the gawkers.
The place was busy with customers actually renting movies. Imagine that? Sure, they likely have the same streaming services we do. They can probably watch the movie they are renting on the phones in their pockets. But yet, here they are. Going to an actual place run by their neighbors. I felt a twinge of jealousy for these folks, who can make it a Blockbuster night whenever the mood strikes. Blockbuster and chill. That sounds pretty nice right about now.
See more of my photos here.
Whata’s in a name? Burger wars break out between Whataburger (the Texas giant) and What-A-Burger #13 (the tiny North Carolina chain)
The Texas-based fast-food giant Whataburger is suing a small North Carolina chain called What-A-Burger #13, demanding the smaller restaurant group change its name.
Whataburger, the big chain with over 900 locations in 15 states, is poised to enter the North Carolina market, with a restaurant in Charlotte. This expansion, for the Texas-based firm, anyway, forced the issue of what to do about What-A-Burger #13, the local chain that, according to the suit, began in 1969, almost 20 years after the bigger Whataburger, in 1950
The first What-A-Burger (or #1) in North Carolina opened in 1956, in Kannapolis, and is still in business. What-A-Burger #13 has only two locations, in Mount Pleasant and Locust, and a food truck. (There are still other What-A-Burgers in North Carolina related to the founding Bost family, and still others are no longer called What-A-Burgers but still so name their signature menu item. Only #13 is targeted in the lawsuit. The numbers reflect the order in which the stores opened. Roadarch.com has a helpful entry on the chain. And yes, this is all somewhat confusing, in that way that life can be messy.)
According to the lawsuit, the two chains had worked out a confidential deal to co-exist peacefully, but the smaller chain’s decision to create an LLC (without the Texas chain’s awareness) violated their coexistence agreement before it took effect, according to the lawsuit. Now, Whataburger wants What-A-Burger to find a new name, suing for alleged trademark infringement and the violation of contract.
Whataburger told the Washington Post it’s not trying to shut down What-A-Burger #13. But the smaller chain’s owner, Zeb Bost, told the news outlet it suddenly finds its survival threatened.
“After being in business for seventy years, What-A-Burger’s future is being threatened by this large national retailer,” said Bost in a statement shared with The Post through Kenneth Haywood, an attorney at Howard Stallings Law Firm. “And the Bost family is being victimized by big money interests.”
Bost said the two chains actually had an agreement to peacefully coexist from way back in 1970 — when Whataburger was under family ownership — and that the larger chain broke it in 2022. (The Post story goes into the complicated legal ping-pong at play here.)
Whataburger sued a restaurant of a similar name in Virginia in the early 2000s, but the suit was dismissed when a judge ruled there was likely to be no confusion among the public, and the firms were likely unaware of each other’s existence when they opened for business.
That suit was notably long before Whataburger changed hands (now owned by a private-equity firm) and began its expansion campaign.
Thoughts? Insights on this case? Comment below.
Big news: I’ve been on an award-winning date. (And Pizza Hut was, of course, involved.)
Congrats to my friend, the British journalist Christopher Beanland, who won an award for an episode of his Park Date podcast in which I appeared.
Back in October 2022, Christopher and I went for a long and lovely walk around Central Park, and we chatted about all things roadside America, with a heavy dose of Pizza Hut Classic.
Park Date won “Best Broadcast Audio: Highly Commended” for the episode titled “Why are old Pizza Huts so compelling?”
I encourage you to give the episode a listen here, and give Park Date a follow!
Catskills hamlet of Hurleyville will get its own Borscht Belt Historical Marker on July 21; Mel Brooks got his start here
Exciting news from the Borscht Belt! My friend Louis Sam Inghilterra sent this along. Spread the word!
From the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project:
A HAPPENING IN HURLEYVILLE | SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2024, 1:00 PM
Our 7th historic marker dedication will be A HAPPENING - a literary and arts expo celebrating the Borscht Belt!
The afternoon kicks off with a historic marker dedication @hurleyvillearts paying tribute to Hurleyville’s Borscht Belt era, and includes MEL BROOKS, who began his comedic career at Hurleyville’s Butler Lodge at age 14!
Afterwards shop the small businesses on Main Street! Be sure to stop by “Author Row” @morgan.outdoors featuring a selection of Catskill authors and artists. Don’t forget to check out CATSKILLAND: BILLBOARDS OF THE BORSCHT BELT at the Collaborative College High School (@cchshomestead) a slideshow with music curated by @havurahfolk not to be missed!
I just checked out the one in Monticello, and a delightful sign next to it will be the subject of a newsletter next week!
A repurposed Howard Johnson’s (lookalike) gem in Pennsylvania
Kyra Quinn over on Instagram sent me these cool photos of a former Howard Johnson motel (edit: HoJo’s lookalike!) that has been converted into a consignment shop on the lower level and a nursing home upstairs.
It’s located on Route 22 in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. It’s funny, I drove by here last year and snapped a few (serviceable) pictures while at a stop light, so I was glad to see these in my inbox.
I love finding traces of HoJo’s, but as Retailpocalypse points out, this opened as The Candlelight Restaurant and Ebensburger Motel.
Doesn’t make it any less cool!
Sad sign at historic Gulf station on Lincoln Highway
It's sad to see that the Gulf sign at the now-shuttered Dunkle’s Gulf Station in Bedford, Pennsylvania, has been taken down.
I shared the news about its closure in a report last year, excerpted below:
In every guidebook to the Lincoln Highway, and in so many more that survey the best of roadside America, Dunkle’s Gulf Service makes the cut.
And how could it not? It’s an Art Deco masterpiece, a wonder of polychrome terracotta tile from 1933, the last of its kind still operating as a Gulf station. Here, you would pull up and still experience a reminder of why they used to call gas stations “service stations.” The Dunkles would make sure your car was good to go before you hit the road again.
Sadly, owner Jack Dunkle, 76, died recently. Along with his wife, Susan, he continued to run the family business that was started by his father, Dick, when the shop was a key stop — a “showpiece” — on the coast-to-coast Lincoln Highway, conveniently located between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
The big question here in Bedford, Pennsylvania, is what will become of this shop? Will it reopen? Will it remain closed for so long that it begins to deteriorate? If there’s one thing that’s clear, it’s that a shop surviving 90 years is no guarantee that it will live even another minute.
I don’t necessarily think the removal of the 1970s-80s era Gulf sign confirms a grim fate for the property. I have great confidence in the leaders of Bedford, its citizens and the broader Lincoln Highway community. They realize the town is a key part of the Lincoln Highway experience, with the giant Coffee Pot just down the road.
So I remain optimistic this site will not be allowed to atrophy, and will be revived in some way that celebrates its heritage and that of the Lincoln Highway.
Goodbye, Darlene’s
Leah Frances, the photographer who runs the great American Squares Instagram account, reports Darlene’s, a lovely corner cafe in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, has closed, and its privilege sign is gone.
After seeing Darlene’s on her feed, I headed out to visit it myself and later rang up the shop to learn a little history. Here’s my report from 2019.
From the moment I saw Darlene’s Deli, one alliterative word came to mind to describe it: Darling!
The deli occupies a bright corner of Shamokin, a city in northeastern Pennsylvania. I stopped by on a Sunday, when the deli was closed, but later rang up the shop for some background and had the pleasure of speaking with Darlene Weaver herself.
She told me she founded the store with her husband, Tom, in 1984, and that the wonderful privilege sign for RC Cola dates to then. And yes, the sign is hardly vestigial. You can still enjoy RC cola at the shop, where customers are fans of her daily specials as well as the hoagies.
The corner has a long history of selling savory and sweet treats. Before Darlene and Tom moved in, the space was home to a hoagie shop as well as a candy store.
I love how the color of the store complements that of the sign, a real charmer. Me & my RC, the old slogan went.
There is something so all-American about a vintage cola sign on a corner deli, and this one really gives you a warm and cozy feeling. It is darling, after all.
Tom Weaver died in 2021.
Midwest minded!
When a friend visiting the Midwest invites you to tag along for a weekend of roadside wanderings, you don’t say no!
Over three days, I traveled from Chicago to St. Louis, and will share some of my findings in a future newsletter!
Retrologist roadside news ticker …
Things that make you go hmmm: Netflix is opening two brick-and-mortar “experiential” entertainment venues, called Netflix House, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and Dallas, Texas.
The Key City Diner, whose fire and planned comeback I told you about earlier, is now open for business. The diner, which opened in 1955, is in Lopatcong Township, New Jersey. The fire destroyed the old-school structure, and the rebuild leans modern rather than retro. While that might be a disappointment, it’s more than overridden by the joy that this family business was able to reopen.
Peppi’s Old Tyme Sandwich Shop, an outpost of the small Pittsburgh chain housed in a 1940 National diner in the Point Breeze neighborhood, has closed. H/T Brian Butko.
Vandals tagged the side of the gleaming and well-maintained Dairy Queen in Port Colborne, Canada, the oldest surviving location of the chain north of the border. Two good-hearted brothers from a local paint company not only painted over the mess, they spruced up the vintage look. Here’s a visit to this nice location, long on my bucket list.
The Penn Yan Diner in upstate New York turns to crowdsourcing for financial help after a fire damaged the historic building.
The iconic Billy Mark’s West bar in Manhattan is no more.
Friedman's Army-Navy Surplus & Outdoors has closed — and its neon sign is vanishing with it.
Arlington Texas’s shuttered Johnny Balfour Electronics site could become apartments, but lovers of the site’s history — and signage — should take comfort. Reports KERA News: “Pershing Capital plans to recreate the three signs that sit on the former storefront into public art around the building to honor Balfour and his family. The building would also sport nods to mid-century design characteristics, such as unique window fixtures and unique balconies.”
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The HJ was actually one of many lookalike operations of the time. This one, Candlelight Restaurant and Ebensburger Inn and Suites, can be seen in this 1968 aerial view.
https://vintageaerial.com/photos/pennsylvania/cambria/1981/SCA/165/10
That Heart "O" Chicago sign is a classic!