How did I miss this last month? Johnie's Broiler in Downey is to become a Bob's Big Boy (Googie restaurants take care of their own, I guess).Oh, yeah, I know how I missed it. I moved on April 10. This article appeared in the Press Telegram on April 8. I was crazed and not capable of reading a newspaper.
This picture is from the LATimeMachines website.
Cue the bugle fanfare, even if it's late. Johnie's Broiler in Downey was partially demolished in January 2007--illegally. The restaurant had been in several movies and TV shows because of it's very distinctive, 1950s look--you can see pictures of it from its heyday to demolition at Roadside Peek. (Johnie's also has a website of its own, with a lot of "I remember" eulogies from the community.)
The city of Downey put a moratorium on development that expired in January, 2008. Thanks to Adriene Biondo and her organization, the Broiler site will be cleaned up and the restaurant rebuilt by Jim Louder, the owner of Bob's Big Boy in Torrance.
About the same time as that announcement, Biondo & friends received a California Preservation President's Award, according to Roadside Peek.
1 comment:
Well it looks like it's now called Bob's Big Boy Broiler. I hope the food is as good as the exterior of the "new" place!
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