Busher’s Club (Gone)
Sacramento, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Cruising along Auburn Boulevard after dark, check out the glowing neon for Busher’s Club. The nightclub sign featured a giant cocktail glass with animated bubbles rising through it, giving the drink a freshly poured look. Nothing says it is time to pull over quite like a martini that appears to be fizzing beside the highway.
The sign had another little roadside mystery built into it. One side of the globe displayed the name Jerry’s, while the other side read John’s. Depending on which direction travelers approached, they might have thought they were heading toward two entirely different clubs.
Busher’s dated back to at least 1950 and stood along the old alignment of U.S. Route 40. During its years under the Visintainer family, the club was also known for barbecue ribs prepared in its smokehouse. The business continued entertaining North Sacramento until it closed in 1994.
UPDATE: The cocktail sign was eventually removed and reportedly stored flat on the roof for a time. The nightclub building has since been demolished and the property redeveloped for commercial use. Whether the wonderfully bubbly neon sign was saved or disappeared during demolition remains unknown. 09-26
Gold Spike (Gone)
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Looking to grab an Italian dinner while wandering through San Francisco’s North Beach? How does the Gold Spikesound? The name may not suggest pasta and garlic bread, but the towering neon marquee shaped like a railroad spike offered a pretty good reason to stop and investigate.
Italian immigrant Attilio Mechetti opened the business as a candy store in 1920. During Prohibition, it began quietly serving home-cooked Italian meals to boarders living in the hotel upstairs. Those 25-cent dinners eventually grew into a full family-style restaurant known for enormous portions, checkered tablecloths, house wine, and plenty of garlic bread.
Inside, nearly every available surface was covered with memorabilia. Dollar bills, business cards, and mounted animal heads filled the walls and low ceiling, turning dinner into a visit to a wonderfully cluttered North Beach museum.
UPDATE: The Gold Spike closed on February 20, 2006, after 86 years and four generations of family ownership. The building was remodeled for new retail and dining businesses, and the spike-shaped neon sign was removed. Its present whereabouts remain unknown. 09-26
Hollywood Cafe
Lodi, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
Check out the glowing neon marquee for the Hollywood Cafe in Lodi. The restaurant opened in 1944 and remains one of the city’s oldest surviving eateries. Its old script sign adds a little roadside glamour to Cherokee Lane, especially when the neon comes to life after dark.
According to local lore, Western movie star Slim Pickens once stopped at the cafe after filming nearby. He remarked that the cozy restaurant reminded him of an actors’ hangout in Southern California, inspiring the owner to give it the Hollywood name.
Hollywood Cafe
Lodi, CA Photo courtesy Scott Strickland
Inside, the theme continues with red vinyl booths, checkered floors, a working jukebox, and walls filled with Hollywood memorabilia and local history. The menu stays close to traditional diner territory, with large portions of chicken-fried steak, biscuits and gravy, and other breakfast and lunch favorites.
UPDATE: Now known as Hollywood Family Café & Catering, the restaurant remains open along Cherokee Lane. Its vintage script sign has been restored and continues lighting up the roadside. 09-26
Fisherman's Grotto #9
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Justin Montano
With a name like Fisherman's Grotto #9, it is not hard to imagine that fishermen would appear just about everywhere. The restaurant’s familiar mascot was a pipe-smoking fisherman dressed in a bright yellow raincoat and matching hat. He showed up on the signs, menus, carpets, and plenty of other places around the building. No chance of wandering inside and mistaking this for a steakhouse.
The Fisherman's Grotto #9 is located along San Francisco's Fisherman's
Wharf area. Sometimes bustling at night, this area serves up chowder,
crab, and other seafood delights to visitors and locals alike.
Fisherman's Grotto Design
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Justin Montano
Sicilian immigrant fisherman Michael Geraldi opened Fishermen’s Grotto in 1935. It became the first full-service sit-down restaurant at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf, growing from the humble fish stall Geraldi had operated beside the waterfront. The No. 9 in the name came from the number assigned to that original stall, a small reminder of the restaurant’s beginnings that remained part of the name for nearly 90 years.
The fisherman theme continued throughout the restaurant. The little mascot was woven into the royal blue carpeting, while servers wore blue-and-gold jackets that matched his rain gear. Outside, the huge neon marquee and prominent No. 9 became familiar sights above the lagoon. All that nautical imagery may have been a little excessive, but subtlety was never really the point at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Fisherman's Grotto Image
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Justin Montano
Over the years, the restaurant expanded into a massive waterfront dining complex where visitors could settle in for seafood while watching fishing boats move around the harbor. The Geraldi family operated the Grotto for three generations, keeping it connected to the Sicilian fishing families who helped shape the Wharf. The restaurant was sold in 2016, but the old name, mascot, and familiar waterfront sign remained.
UPDATE: Following a dispute over unpaid rent and eviction proceedings, Fishermen’s Grotto No. 9 closed in 2024. The building and its famous fisherman sign survived the closure, although the neon remained dark. Woods Beer & Wine Co. is now preparing a taproom and cafe in part of the former restaurant, with outdoor seating beside the new public plaza. The seafood house may be gone, but the old Grotto space and its pipe-smoking fisherman are getting another chance to welcome visitors to the Wharf. 09-26
Fisherman's Grotto Design
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Justin Montano
Fisherman's Grotto Diorama
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Justin Montano
Hollywood Cafe
