A Wonderful Meal at 7308 Foothill – Part One

It’s early morning, 1944; a heavy mist drifts across the landscape. An M4 Sherman tank suddenly pierces the fog, its big steel treads roaring as they revolve, propelling the massive machine forward. Abruptly it comes to a stop, the big gun rises and locks in. Just when you might expect to hear a deafening blast, Cecil opens the hatch above his head and pops up.

“Everything’s working perfectly, Bill,” he said. “Let’s get her shipped out to those boys over there fighting Hitler.”

Cecil Frankel, 29 years old, was a test driver for some time at Chrysler Motors Tank Arsenal Plant in Detroit, Michigan. His wife Violet had recently given birth to their first child, a son they named Robert, and it seemed they desired to go west seeking new opportunities. They arrived in Los Angeles in the summer of 1944 and began to explore their new home.

Just by chance they found themselves driving up Foothill Boulevard one day, keeping an eye out for a good place to eat. Soon they spotted a small six-stool café and stopped. They had discovered the Chateau Rose Marie and, after having a delicious meal and meeting the owners Jack and Rose Gallo, they discovered the eatery was for sale. It’s hard to say what excited them but before the day was out Cecil and Vi had negotiated a deal, and the café was theirs.

Neither of them had any restaurant experience.

The place occupied the front of an old house at 7308 Foothill Blvd. Living quarters were in the back behind a good-sized garage. The Frankels took up residence and now a name change was in order. Cecil’s nickname was Buddy and it seemed the perfect moniker for their new endeavor: Buddy’s Café. Despite their inexperience, the business flourished. The six stools soon became eight, then 10 to 12. The wafting sweetness of Vi’s scrumptious pies and good home cookin’ brought customers in from across the Crescenta Valley and beyond. Soon the large garage was renovated into a dining room and outdoor seating evolved.

Wanting to please and being good at it, the Frankels worked hard, paid attention to small details, maintained a clean, well-run establishment with great food and were liked by everyone. For 14 years all was well … until Friday, May 23, 1958 at 2 ’clock in the afternoon.

“Andrew that would be fine, we’ve got a deal,” Buddy exclaimed to his vendor. They shook hands and he sat back at his desk.

He’d left the kitchen long ago to manage his growing operation and had meetings scheduled that day. Another food salesman waited to be led down to his office when Buddy called for a cup of coffee. He hadn’t looked good that day and wasn’t feeling well. By the time the coffee arrived, Buddy was dead at his desk.

His passing had come without warning, stunning the community that loved him so. At the extremely young age of 43, Cecil “Buddy” Maurice Frankel had died of a heart attack.

Four hundred-plus people are said to have attended his funeral. Old timers claimed then that it was the largest memorial ever held in Sunland-Tujunga. Over a mile of cars wound their way down Foothill Boulevard, enroute to Glen Haven Memorial Park where he was laid to rest.

A Buddy’s Café advertisement once proclaimed, “We have the honor of being Tujunga’s oldest fine restaurant established August 1944.” It concluded, “The perfect setting for a wonderful meal.”

All of these years later, that still holds true. It’s still a location where you can get a wonderful meal and the setting couldn’t be more perfect.

But that story is for next time when a young man is awakened by his mother from a sound sleep. She is excited to share her knowledge of an opportunity with him. Her boy’s name? Joselito.