Bobo’s Drive-ThruRuby’s Dagwood’s Cafe

1811

Fritz’s Railrode Cafe

30

THE MELTING POT

In 1908 Israel Zangwill coined the term “the melting

pot” describing the new America. This is truer than

ever today; just not in the way that Zangwill had

intended. This now aged, multicultural, America has seen

the birth of a new melting pot of multigrain, multi-meal

Americans. With this food overload much of the industry has

lost its’ charm and character. The food industry has become

dependent on typography to create something irreplaceable.

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THE DINER IS EVER YBODY’S KITCHEN -RICHARD GUTMAN

THE DINER IS EVER YBODY’S KITCHEN -RICHARD GUTMAN

Three pioneering Kansas diners offer unique typographic

and tasty experiences that you may be missing. Dagwood’s

serves up mama’s breakfast classics in a 60’s diner, Bobo’s

1948 Drive-In dishes up your American favorites with

their car side waitress and Fritz’s 1954 Railroad Restau-

rant delivers your food tableside by toy sized, freight car.

Ruby’s Dagwood’s Café is hidden on a less traveled road Kansas City,

Kansas. The humble façade of this family run breakfast and lunch café

is an understatement to the tasty and comforting food made inside.

DAGWOOD’S CAFE /

DAGWOOD’S CAFE /

A true “diner” is a prefabricated structure built at an assembly site and trans-

ported to a permanent location for installation to serve prepared food. Webster’s

Dictionary defines a diner as “a restaurant in the shape of a railroad car.” The

word “diner” is a derivative of “dining car” and diner designs reflected the styling

that manufacturers borrowed from railroad dining cars.

A diner is usually outfitted with a counter, stools and a food preparation or service

area along the back wall. Those who could not afford to purchase a new diner

often converted decommissioned railroad passenger cars and trolleys into diners.

I walk inside, there are handmade instructional signs and quite a few commercial

product signs such as Coca Cola and 7up. I move into the main dining area and

there is a long line of booths along the right wall. An equally long counter with

permanent stools beneath separates the kitchen from the rest of the dining space. I

sit down and notice the wall of Wonder bread loaves between the kitchen and the

customers. These loaves serve as a décor of sorts. Two women in the open kitchen

are frying bacon, eggs, chocolate chip pancakes and other delicacies on a large flat

top visible to customer. The set up of Dagwood’s is reminiscent of a typical dining

car but is a permanent building. The typographic style of Dagwood’s is established

through the commercial brands that they use. My Dagwood’s breakfast foodie

favorite is the chocolate chip pancake or biscuits and homemade gravy.

BOBO’S DRIVE-THRU /Bobo’s Drive-In sits a few streets over from the Kansas State Capital building in

Topeka. I pull around and park in one of the designated slots, a little confused

as what to do next. Note to self: you must turn your headlights on to signal to

the carhop you are ready to order. This drive-in is quite unlike those of today. he

space is typographically free except for the oversized menus on each side of the

parking plaza. The title typeface is elaborate and of gothic likeness.

BOBO’S DRIVE-THRU /

1950 CARHOP

As more automobiles appeared on

America’s streets during the early twentieth

century, the restaurant business began to

change to meet new needs. Soda fountain

operators began offering curb service for

customers by 1910. Motorists stopped in

front of their stores, honked their horns,

and soda fountain employees called curbies

rushed out to take orders and deliver them.

When drive-ins developed in the 1920s, orders were taken and food was

subsequently delivered on trays and customers ate in their cars. At first,

the tray was simply handed in through the car window to be placed on the

customer's lap. Sometimes people drove off with the trays and a lap tray was

hardly convenient for the driver, so new trays were developed that fastened

to the outside of the car. By the 1930s, the name changed to carhops,

which purportedly referred to their practice of hopping up on cars’ running

boards. By the 1930s, young women were selected to be carhops and were

required to wear outlandish costumes; such as those of cheerleaders or

majorettes. Carhops occasionally navigated around drive-ins on roller skates.

A san serif typeface spells out a menu of fried,

boiled and baked American specialties. Bobo’s

offers its’ wide generational array of people the

option to drive-in or dine in. The tightly designed

indoor dining room is full of character and charm.

To the left are three booths with attached

coat racks at the end. Then to the right

is a “u” shaped bar top with stools and a

peek into the kitchen behind. The same

ball lighting is used in both the indoor and

outdoor dining areas unifying the spaces.

The bold gothic title typeface is not used

inside as to not overpower the small space.

The waitress offers no menu but everyone

can see the large menu posted on the wall.

My foodie favorites at Bobo’s are one of their

classic steak burgers, an order of onion rings

and a slice of their famous apple pie to top it off.

FRITZ’S RAILROAD RESTAURANTFritz’s Railroad Restaurant is nestled in a downtown

Kansas City neighborhood. I pull into the small,

diagonally placed parking spaces directly off of the

busy intersection. My dad used to take my sister and

I to Fritz’s when we were little so I know it builds

special memories that you will not want to miss.

FRITZ’S RAILROAD RESTAURANT/

As I walk into the restaurant the décor is an overloaded motif of trains,

dark woods and wrought iron. There is a bar top directly outside the

kitchen and an abundance of tables and booths that spill over into a

larger room it the back. Sitting down in a booth I picked up the old

model phone to place my order to the cook in the kitchen. By using this

means of taking orders the restaurant only requires one waitress.

THEME RESTAURANT

Credit for the development of the first theme restaurants goes to Paris

cafés and cabarets which opened in Montmartre in the later nineteenth

century. They were primarily drinking spots rather than full-scale

restaurants but they served food also. Like American theme restaurants

today they were built around a concept and created an environment that

appeared to be something other than a mere eating and drinking place.

The menu continues the train theme along with Fritz’s logo and a coordinating san serif

typeface adorned with simple railroad tracks winding throughout the different items.

There is a sound of a train whistle blowing. A little model train chugs around the corner

of the kitchen and makes its way around the ceiling until it reaches its assigned table.

A bar lowers and the box hanging below the train catches on a platform and then

slowly lowers onto the table with my foodie favorites wrapped inside. My foodie

favorites at Fritz’s are one of their classic burgers and a creamy milkshake.