Now It’s a Taqueria – But What Did It Used to Be?

Want to help me gather material for a music video inspired by our little town? Want a free CD? Read on:

I just do this to myself. I get a “brilliant” idea (note tongue firmly planted in cheek), and it becomes a huge research project. Last summer I was on a quest to find photos of our late Starlite Drive-In for the cover of my new CD. Several posts, articles, and phone calls later, I found what I needed, courtesy of the Register Pajaronian. My pal David worked some PhotoShop magic with the pics, and he came up with exactly the CD cover I was hoping for.

Turns out, I’m still on the hunt for local photographs: One of the new CD’s songs, “Now It’s a Taqueria” (click here for a clip), makes fun of how many local restaurants have turned into taquerias. (Okay, it’s most of them.) It’s a fun tune and always a goofy singalong at shows. We’re planning a video and thought it would be fun to get pics of the old restaurants and have them dissolve into photos of the new ones.

The recent article on Long-Gone Restaurants here on the Patch sorta jogged my memory. And I posted this question on FaceBook yesterday and received lots of great suggestions. Now I just need to find photos to go with them. How hard could that be? (Again, tongue planted well in cheek.)

Here’s what my pals on FaceBook came up with. I have photos to go with the first two.

• Del Monte (Walker St)
• Miramar (Main St)
• Nook Cafe (Brennan St)
• A&W (Freedom Blvd)
• Windmill – now Taqueria Mundial (Main St next to Ramsay Park)
• Taco Bell (Main St)
• Hamburger Place (Mariposa)
• E’s Ranch Milk (Green Valley Road)
• Dairy Queen (East Lake Ave)
• Foster’s Freeze (Main St)
• JJ’s (East Lake)
• Rexall Drugstore – now El Charrito (E. Beach)
• Virg’s Pizza (East Lake)

The question now is: Does anyone out there happen to have photos of any of these other places? There’s a credit in the video (and a free CD) to anyone who might be able to help. Shoot me an email if you can. And thanks.