Downtown L.A. corner designated a historic landmark for LGBTQ+ community
A view of the exterior of Evans Cafeteria, shown in 1958, at 215 Main St. in downtown Los Angeles, and Cooper Do-nuts. The doughnut shop, which later moved to 213 Main St., was considered a safe haven for members of the LGBTQ+ community during the 1950s and ‘60s. (Cooper Donuts and the Evans Family)
From the Los Angeles Times: Amid a heated nationwide debate about gay and transgender rights, the Los Angeles City Council has designated a corner in downtown Los Angeles as a historic landmark for the LGBTQ+ community.
The council voted unanimously Wednesday to designate the intersection of 2nd and Main streets as “Cooper Do-nuts/Nancy Valverde Square.”
Cooper Do-nuts, whose first location was on that corner, was known as a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community during the 1950s and ’60s. Nancy Valverde, who frequented the doughnut shop, was arrested and harassed by police starting in the late 1940s for wearing gender nonconforming clothing, in violation of a city ordinance.
Cheez-It’s Retro Pit Stop Will Fuel Your Joshua Tree Road Trip
Kellogg Company
From Tastingtable.com: Have you ever wanted to pull off the highway, roll down your window, and have your car filled with snack crackers? If so, you can. For one week this June, you have the opportunity to visit the Cheez-It Stop in Joshua Tree — one of the snackiest roadside attractions in the U.S, per a press release.
San Francisco’s storied 105-year-old diner, St. Francis Fountain, under new ownership
The exterior of St. Francis Fountain in San Francisco on June 30, 2022. The storied diner will soon be under new ownership. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
From SFgate: St. Francis Fountain, a 105-year-old fixture in the Mission District, will soon be under new ownership.
Mantakarn Seenin, who owns Mama’s cafe on Washington Square, is taking over the storied diner and ice cream parlor, which is currently under escrow, according to the San Francisco Business Times. St. Francis Fountain is expected to fully transfer over to Seenin by July.
Roadside Development Shares Preliminary Plans for 500-Unit Building at Tastee Diner Site
From Source of the Spring: Roadside Development has revealed its preliminary plans for the redevelopment of the Tastee Diner and adjacent Capital One Bank building in downtown Silver Spring.
Tastee Diner closed abruptly in March after owner Gene Wilkes sold the property for $3.1 million to Roadside, citing health concerns. Wilkes and Roadside had been in discussions for over a year regarding the sale of the restaurant at 8601 Cameron St. in downtown Silver Spring.
Powder River’s Iconic Tumble Inn Neon Cowboy Hasn’t Blown Over, It’s Being Restored
Tumble Inn on Sept. 29, 2020. (Wes Dickinson)
From Cowboy State Daily: The roadside sign for the Tumble Inn in Powder River, Wyoming, is a genuine slice of Americana. Kitsch and caboodle nostalgia from hat to boots, it looks like it belongs on an eerie stretch of forgotten asphalt off Route 66.
Instead, the towering retro cowboy flags down wayward motorists along an eerie stretch of highway between Casper and Shoshoni on U.S. Highway 20/26.
It’s less trafficked than it used to be (blame Eisenhower and his interstate) but plenty of Wyomingites have whizzed by the bygone bar and restaurant, and its larger-than-life landmark cowboy beckoning weary travelers to tumble in and sit a spell.
Don’t look now, but the portly cowpoke with the six shooters has been scalped.