Smoke House

Carpenters (Demolished)
Arcadia, CA
Photo courtesy Dan MacPherson

At Huntington near Santa Clara in Arcadia, CA stood Carpenters Santa Anita. This Carpenters was located across from the Santa Anita Race Track. Many thanks to Dan MacPherson for info.

The restaurant served “Chicken in the Rough,” a fried-chicken specialty whose name sounded especially appropriate around a town known for horse racing. Carpenter’s later became Henry’s Santa Anitan, keeping the location in the drive-in business under another familiar name. Along this stretch of old Route 66, hungry travelers had plenty of reasons to slow down.

UPDATE: Carpenter’s Santa Anita and its successor are gone. The former drive-in was located at 125 W. Huntington Drive in Arcadia. 10-26

Yum Yum Restaurant (Gone)
Colton, CA
Photo courtesy David Carrasco

Here is a photo of the Yum Yum Restaurant sign located in Colton CA. This towering sign is at least 50 feet high and a favorite among truckers and travelers alike. Many thanks to David Carrasco for info.

The restaurant occupied 2726 S. Iowa Avenue near Interstate 215. Its towering marquee belonged to the familiar highway tradition of making the sign visible before the building. After a long stretch behind the wheel, a large restaurant announcement could be considerably more appealing than another mileage marker.

For roadside enthusiasts, the attraction extended beyond the meal. Yum Yum offered the sort of oversized, individual sign that gave a freeway exit its own identity. The name handled the appetite, while the height handled the advertising. Apparently nobody wanted a hungry trucker to miss the invitation.

UPDATE: Yum Yum Restaurant closed, and the former diner site at 2726 S. Iowa Avenue was redeveloped with a Starbucks. The old restaurant sign is gone. 10-26

La Frite (Gone)
Sherman Oaks, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Check out the busy chef on the La Frite sign in Sherman Oaks. Those airborne delicacies were crepes, and the neon originally illuminated them in sequence to suggest a flip. That was quite a performance for someone who never left his roadside post.

The restaurant opened in 1972 as Yellowfingers, adopting the La Frite name around 1978. Its colorful chef sign became a familiar Ventura Boulevard greeting, advertising French food with considerably more enthusiasm than a simple menu board.

In 2011, the kitchen received a different sort of attention when Gordon Ramsay brought Kitchen Nightmares to the restaurant. Family disagreements and restaurant troubles became television entertainment. The chef outside probably had the easier assignment: keep smiling and keep that pan raised.

UPDATE: La Frite at 15013 Ventura Boulevard was converted into the Italian restaurant Modo Mio in September 2017. The distinctive neon chef sign was removed, ending its long run above the boulevard. 10-26

Marie Callender Pies (Rem.)
La Habra, CA
Photo Courtesy Frank Kao

Pie wasn’t the only attraction at Marie Callender’s in La Habra. The old Whittier Boulevard sign had a ruffled, apron-like outline that looked ready to help in the kitchen. A restaurant promising a home-style meal could hardly ask for a more appropriate roadside wardrobe.

Its unusual shape gave passing motorists something to notice before they started considering the pie selection. Where a plain rectangle might have delivered the name and stopped there, this sign supplied a little personality. Checking out the marquee could lead quite naturally to checking out a flaky crust.

UPDATE: The sign has been replaced with the latest backlit plastic type of sign. 11-05

UPDATE: Marie Callender’s continues operating at 340 E. Whittier Boulevard in La Habra. The vintage apron-shaped sign was replaced by 2005; the restaurant itself remains open. 10-26

Casa Vega Restaurant
Sherman Oaks, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The parking lot sign at Casa Vega gives hungry motorists a bright introduction to a considerably dimmer dining room. Inside, the subdued lighting and familiar booths have helped make this Sherman Oaks restaurant a comfortable retreat from Ventura Boulevard traffic.

Ray Vega opened Casa Vega in 1956, and the restaurant has remained a Vega family business. Celebrity customers became part of its story, but its Hollywood connection eventually extended to the screen. Quentin Tarantino used the restaurant in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2019. Its established atmosphere made a convincing setting for a trip back to the 1960s.

An unverified tale supplied with its history describes a man in a fedora occupying a back booth, then disappearing when the lights come on. True story? Perhaps he preferred the usual lighting.

UPDATE: Casa Vega remains open at 13301 Ventura Boulevard under the Vega family. It received a James Beard America’s Classics award in 2022 and celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2026. 10-26