Doggie Diner
San Francisco, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Once upon a time, a grinning dog in a chef’s hat meant a Doggie Diner was nearby. The big heads stood above drive-ins around the Bay Area, watching traffic with wide eyes and a bow tie. Some even turned on their poles. Imagine spotting that face from down the street and knowing a hot dog, hamburger, or late-night snack was just ahead.
The chain got its start in Oakland in the late 1940s and spread around the Bay Area. Its mascot came later, designed by graphic artist Harold Bachman. It was supposed to help sell food, but the dog had enough personality to outlast the restaurants. With that grin and tall white hat, it was somewhere between a sign, a cartoon character, and a very strange neighborhood pet.
Carousel (formerly Doggie Diner)
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Kallisti
By the 1980s, the Doggie Diners were fading away. The last restaurant to carry the name closed in 1986, though some of the buildings and signs stayed on under new names. At Sloat Boulevard and 46th Avenue in San Francisco, the former diner became the Carousel restaurant. Its dog remained outside, still keeping an eye on the road toward Ocean Beach.
Doggie Head (Restored)
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Kallisti
When the Carousel closed, it looked as though the old head might go, too. Neighbors and roadside sign fans spoke up for it. Then a windstorm knocked the dog down in 2001, giving everyone another reason to wonder whether it would ever return to its perch. It did. After repairs, the head moved about a block east to the median at Sloat and 45th Avenue, where it was welcomed back in 2005.
Good news! This doggie head was restored back to prime condition. Even
the doggie's hat now looks spotless!
That dog has had more adventures than most restaurant signs. It became San Francisco Landmark No. 254 in 2006, though there isn’t a Doggie Diner left beside it. Now it stands on its own, greeting people heading to the beach. The grin still works, even without a counter nearby.
Doggie Diner
San Francisco, CA Photo courtesy Wanda Mazur
The Doggie Diner head near San Francisco was the last of the remaining
signs of the old Doggie Diner. Unfortunately, this sign was blown down
by a windstorm on 4/1/01.
Other Doggie heads found homes around the Bay Area. One sits inside Streetlight Records in San Jose, watching over the record bins instead of passing cars. The mascot also wandered into Bill Griffith’s Zippy the Pinhead comics. Not bad for a fellow whose first job was getting people to pull in for lunch.
UPDATE: Here's a shot of the doggie head standing tall over the Carousel. 07-03
UPDATE: The Doggie Diner head in SF (associated with the former Carousel restaurant) has been lovingly restored and moved to a position on Sloat Blvd. More information can be found at http://www.outsidelands.org/doggie_diner.php. According to this site, the Doggie Diner head was designed in 1960 by artist Harold Bachman for a chain of 30 drive-in restaurants. The doggie head stands there, somewhat depressingly, right in the middle of the street, on a traffic median. The colors are so bright, it almost seems to lack authenticity. Many thanks to Heather David for update. 07-08
UPDATE: The original Doggie Diner chain is long gone, but its name lives on at Oracle Park, and the surviving heads still turn up in places where people can enjoy them. The Sloat Boulevard dog remains the most familiar of the bunch, dressed for kitchen duty with nowhere in particular to be. 09-26
Doggie Diner Head
San Jose, CA Photo courtesy Heather David
The diner may be gone, but this Doggie Diner head rests comfortably at San Jose's Streetlight Records. According to an employee at Streetlight, the doggie head may have come from a Doggie Diner in Fremont, CA. Many thanks to Heather David for update. 07-08
There’s a familiar face watching over the records at Streetlight Records in San Jose. Tucked inside the shop is one of the old Doggie Diner heads, still wearing its chef’s hat and that unmistakable grin. It’s a funny place to find a former roadside sign, but the dog seems quite comfortable among the music.
The Doggie Diner chain disappeared in the 1980s, leaving its big fiberglass mascots to find new homes. According to the story shared at Streetlight, this one may have come from a diner in Fremont, though its original location hasn’t been confirmed. For now, it has traded passing cars for people flipping through records.
UPDATE: Streetlight Records remains open on South Bascom Avenue, with the Doggie Diner head still keeping watch inside. 09-26
Doggie Diner
Carousel (formerly Doggie Diner)
Doggie Head (Restored)
Doggie Diner
Doggie Diner Head
