Joe Marty's (Closed)
Sacramento, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Joe Marty’s in Sacramento is a sports bar with a neon sign shaped like a baseball. The glowing laces are a nice touch, while the Joe Marty’s script was modeled after the former ballplayer’s own signature. This is one sign that leaves little doubt about what kind of place waits inside.

Joe Marty was a Sacramento baseball star who played for the Sacramento Solons and Chicago Cubs. After returning from military service during World War II, he opened the bar and filled it with baseball memorabilia. The familiar neon baseball arrived in 1953 and became a Broadway landmark.

UPDATE: An electrical fire gutted Joe Marty’s in 2005, destroying much of its collection and leaving the building closed for about a decade. The property was eventually rebuilt, and the surviving neon sign was restored and returned to its familiar corner. The restaurant later reopened as Sampino’s Kitchen at Joe Marty’s, serving Italian food beneath the glowing baseball once again. 09-26

Espanol (Closed)
Sacramento, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Espanol Restaurant in Sacramento was known for Italian dinners. Now what’s wrong with this picture? Despite the Spanish name, the longtime restaurant served old-school Italian-American favorites, complete with red-and-white checkered tablecloths, family-style meals, and plenty of minestrone soup.

The name went back to 1923, when Español began as a Basque hotel and restaurant catering to Spanish sheepherders. Frank “Babe” Luigi purchased the business in 1959 and changed the menu to Italian food, but wisely kept the familiar name. The restaurant moved to Folsom Boulevard in 1965 and became a Sacramento institution. Sometimes a little roadside confusion makes the story even better.

UPDATE: After nearly a century in business, Español permanently closed in August 2020. The building was remodeled and reopened as Mattone Ristorante in 2021. The familiar Español roadside sign was removed, and its whereabouts remain unknown. 09-26

Pietro's Pizza
Vacaville , CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Pietro’s Pizza in Vacaville has been serving pizza and Italian dinners since the 1950s. Check out the towering neon sign along Cernon Street, complete with the Pietro’s name, a big arrow, and separate panels advertising pizza and Italian dinners. It is a fine old roadside beacon pointing the way toward a table, a hot pizza, and something covered in plenty of cheese.

Pietro “Papa Pietro” Murdaca opened the family restaurant around 1956 or 1957 after coming to California from Antonimina, Italy. Pietro’s soon became a familiar gathering place for generations of Vacaville families looking for pizza and traditional Italian food. The restaurant stayed in the Murdaca family and grew into one of the city’s longest-running local businesses.

Known today as Pietro’s No. 1 or The Original Pietro’s, the restaurant still has the comfortable feeling of an old neighborhood pizza parlor. It should not be confused with Pietro’s No. 2 on Merchant Street, which comes from the same family roots but does not have the vintage roadside sign. For sign hunters, No. 1 is the place to stop.

UPDATE: Pietro’s No. 1 remains open and continues serving pizza and Italian favorites at its original Cernon Street location. Best of all, the big neon sign is still standing and lighting the way after nearly seven decades. In a town that has changed quite a bit since the 1950s, Pietro’s and its glowing roadside landmark are still right where they belong. 09-26

Giant Burgers
Oakland , CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Giant Burgers was a familiar Northern California hamburger chain, especially around Oakland and the East Bay. Here is a night shot of one of its Oakland locations, with the big “1/4 LB” roadside sign glowing above the building. No need to wonder what was cooking inside.

Often advertised as Hambrick’s Giant Burgers, the chain once had locations around Oakland, San Leandro, Richmond, and Concord. Some stayed open around the clock, serving burgers, homemade pies, and pastry “snails.” Giant Burgers was advertising its quarter-pound hamburgers well before another chain made the term famous nationwide.

UPDATE: The original chain eventually broke apart, and many locations closed. A couple of independently operated Giant Burger restaurants remain along MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland, where versions of the familiar roadside signs can still be seen. 09-26

Formosa Chinese Cuisine
Sacramento, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Sometimes the sky cooperates and turns an ordinary roadside stop into something special. Here it provides a spectacular backdrop for the neon marquee at Formosa Chinese Cuisine on Del Paso Boulevard. The clouds and evening color may steal the show at first, but that wonderful old sign holds its own once the neon comes on.

Also known as the Formosa Cafe, the North Sacramento restaurant was a longtime neighborhood favorite for traditional Chinese-American comfort food. Owners May and Ranney operated the restaurant for more than 36 years, welcoming generations of regular customers and often remembering them by name. The old-fashioned dining room, vintage booths, and made-to-order dishes helped Formosa retain the atmosphere of a neighborhood Chinese restaurant from another era.

The sign was an even older part of the scenery. Dating from around 1955, its distinctive lettering, neon borders, and tall roadside presence made it one of the memorable vintage signs along Del Paso Boulevard. Pair it with a dramatic evening sky and the camera practically takes care of the rest.

UPDATE: Formosa Cafe permanently closed in December 2024 when its longtime owners retired. The vintage neon sign was later removed from the property, and its present whereabouts remain unknown. Hopefully it was saved and will light up again somewhere around Sacramento. 09-26

Tad's Steaks
San Francisco, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Near San Francisco’s Union Square, the neon and chasing lights of Tad's Steaks were hard to miss. The original restaurant opened on Powell Street in 1955, offering a T-bone steak, baked potato, garlic bread, and salad for only $1.09. Customers grabbed a tray, placed an order, and watched their steaks being broiled over an open flame.

The simple idea proved popular, and Tad’s grew into a nationwide chain of 28 restaurants. Over the years, the other locations disappeared until San Francisco was the last Tad’s standing.

UPDATE: Tad’s closed its longtime Powell Street location in October 2019 and relocated around the corner to 38 Ellis Street. The restaurant remains open, and its familiar neon and chaser-light sign was restored and installed on the new building. 09-26