Description
Charlotte Belisle, Published 1995. Paperback, 129 pp.; 20 cm; illustrated with black-and-white photographs and a reproduction of the 1969 restaurant menu.
Rare, out-of-print & unusual books · Since 1997
112
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Catalog notes
Condition & notes
In Very Good condition. Glossy white illustrated paper covers with mild shelf and edge wear. Front cover is upturned with a slight curl and does not lie flat. Binding tight. Pages clean and unmarked. Cover illustration by Bob Diven. Spelling of "World Famus" is as issued. Charlotte and Harvey Belisle bought McClain's Market and Ranch Drive-In at Harbor Boulevard and Chapman Avenue in Garden Grove and reopened it as Belisle's in May 1955, two months before Disneyland opened a mile up the road. Construction crews from the park came down for lunch, and the restaurant ran forty years on a vast menu, outsized portions, pink interiors modeled on the Madonna Inn, and round-the-clock service. Charlotte wrote this after Harvey's death in 1992. Arranged by decade, it covers the naming of the place, the menu, the staff and customers, and the family's 1960s ventures including the Gold Street nightclub. Front matter collects remarks from customers including Lou Ferrigno, Roseanne, and Ronald Reagan, who came in for the meatloaf in 1990. Illustrated with staff and family photographs and a reproduction of the 1969 menu. Belisle's closed in 1998 when the site was taken for redevelopment. Contents: Childhood; The 50s: Romance, The Name, The Menu, Belisle's Employees, Incident at Belisle's, Customers; The 60s: Gold Street, Let's Rock and Roll, Circus Circus, Designated Driver, Chandelier For Sale!; The 70s: Prelude To Change, To Hell and Back!, The Avocado Run, Reunions; The 80s: Belisle's Turns 25, The Move; The 90s: Sound The Trumpets, Today's Food, Unsung Folks, The Beat Goes On; "Letter" from Annette; Epilogue.