EatZ Cafe (Now Los Feliz Cafe)
Los Angeles, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

EatZ is a very cute little diner adjacent to the Los Feliz Public 9-hole Golf Course next to the Interstate 5 freeway overpass over the L.A. River. Many thanks to Adriene Biondo for info.

Check out the “EAT” and “GOLF” lettering, giving visitors two fairly straightforward suggestions. The patio faces the course, where customers can watch someone else work on their swing while taking a break over breakfast or lunch. No clubs required for the eating portion. There’s some history beneath the diner’s cozy appearance. The building began as a Quonset hut and was converted into a cafe in 1948.

UPDATE: The former EatZ continues as Los Feliz Cafe, serving breakfast and lunch beside the golf course. The little cafe no longer has the letters on the building. 10-26

Joe's Cafe
Santa Barbara, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

A smiling chef makes the introduction at Joe’s Cafe in Santa Barbara. Check out the face tucked into the lettering, looking quite pleased to be part of the marquee. The sign gives State Street a welcome bit of old restaurant character before anyone steps inside.

Joe Ferrario and his wife Adelina opened the cafe in 1928, beginning a business that would become a familiar downtown gathering place. Through changes in ownership and plenty of changes around town, Joe’s kept its name and its following. The bold marquee came along under owner Harry Davis in the 1950s. Apparently the restaurant needed something easier to spot from the street, and this sign certainly answered the call..

UPDATE: Joe’s remains open on State Street. The restaurant moved down the block in 1985 and brought its familiar sign along, keeping that smiling face on duty at the new location. Almost a century of cafe history, with a little neon out front to announce it. 10-26

Rainbow Cafe (Demolished)
Monterey Park, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

White stucco and maroon trim gave The Rainbow Cafe in Monterey Park a familiar neighborhood-cafe look. Check out the painted name above the entrance and along the side wall, making sure the little building introduced itself from more than one direction.

Up on the roof, a small cabinet sign carried rainbow graphics to go with the name. It wasn’t a towering marquee, but it added a bit of color above the stepped roofline. The hooded windows and contrasting lower walls gave the frontage a few more details worth noticing.

UPDATE: The Rainbow Cafe building and its rooftop sign are gone, replaced by a modern light-industrial warehouse. Word is it was demolished around 2004. Another little cafe has disappeared from the Monterey Park roadside. 10-26

Best Place Cafe (Closed)
Long Beach, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

After dark, Best Place Cafe in Long Beach gave its corner a little extra color. Check out the lettering lighting up the stucco, turning an otherwise modest cafe frontage into something worth a second look. The building didn’t need to be enormous to make an impression at night.

The name offered a fairly confident recommendation before customers even reached the door. Whether stopping for a meal or just passing through, travelers had an old-fashioned cafe sign to catch their attention. Quite a claim to put above the entrance, but a good name for a neighborhood gathering place.

The nighttime glow was part of the appeal here. Light spilling onto the wall gave the cafe a presence beyond the lettering itself, making the corner feel a little livelier. Another reminder that the smaller restaurant signs deserve a look too.

UPDATE: Taco Beach now operates at the Bellflower Boulevard location associated with Best Place Cafe. The Best Place closed sometime around 2014. 10-26

Roy's Motel and Cafe
Amboy ,CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

A towering arrow makes Roy's Motel and Cafe hard to overlook in Amboy. Check out the familiar lettering against the desert sky, where there’s plenty of room for the sign to show off. What once helped highway travelers find gas, food, and a bed has become a destination of its own. 10-20

Roy’s began as a Route 66 service station in 1938 and grew into a busy roadside stop under Roy Crowl and his family, including son-in-law Buster Burris. The cafe, motel, and garage gave motorists several reasons to pause before continuing across the Mojave.

The big sign arrived in 1959, adding a space-age touch to the desert town. Interstate 40 later carried much of the traffic away, but Roy’s stayed in the memories of travelers who knew the older road. Albert Okura purchased Amboy in 2005 and began bringing life back to the stop.

UPDATE: Roy’s continues welcoming visitors for gas, souvenirs, and a look around. The restored neon sign was officially relit on November 16, 2019. Work toward restoring the cafe and motel continues, while the big arrow once again gives the desert night something to admire. 10-26

Feature is coming soon.