A wonderfully atmospheric shot of the Roberts drive-in diner in 1940. It stood at the corner of Olive Avenue and Victory Boulevard in Burbank. It later became Van De Kamps in 1968 and later Biff Naylor’s Gristmill in 1979. (Biff Naylor is the son of noted California restaurateur Tiny Naylor and purchased the Du-par’s chain in 2004.)
Owing to my having acquired a phobia of air travel in the mid 70s, I moved from Chicago to California and switched careers from field engineering to tech writing/editing. It was at the Gristmilll where I devoured books, drank gallons of coffee, developed wonderful friendships, and set my life on a new course. I have wonderful memories of the place. . .
I managed the VanNuys Drive Inn