Having finally figured out the uses and intricacies of Photobucket, here’s the June ‘68 exterior photo I described above. Note that I had some color adjustment problems in scanning the transparency, but I’ve at least now gotten it so it’s not entirely blue! View link
No, I am familiar with the Polk…I had already looked at the photos that were posted (yes, the ticket-seller with tank top was intriguing!) and that’s not the theater I was thinking of. (I do remember going to the Fair…I’m curious as to whether the Polk was showing adult films even back in the late 60s-early 70s, because I have a vague memory of it being a kind of “forbidden” theater.) Anyway, I really think it truly is a case of combining the Fair and the Boulevard in my memory. (Heck, until I started browsing this site, I had completely forgotten there was ever such a thing as the Jerry Lewis Cinemas! Possibly proof of the mind’s ability to protect itself…)
Thanks, Warren, but this is still bugging me. In fact, it had me up last night! I was trying to think of what the name of the theater I’m thinking of could possibly be, because my mind is convinced it was a short name — like Fair — not a long name, like Boulevard. I just looked at EdSolero’s photos of the current incarnation of the Boulevard, and the problem is it shows a theater on the corner with a marquee at the end of the block. I’m convinced the theater I’m thinking of was in the middle of the block. And it seems to me that the old Food Fair supermarket, with its tall tan brick tower sign, was a block or two away. The only explanation I can come up with is that I’ve somehow combined my memories of the Fair and the Boulevard, and convinced myself that the Fair was the theater on Northern. Short of taking a trip down there to check it out for myself, I’m not likely to resolve this anytime soon!
I apologize for the vulgarity — I hesitated to do it, but was quoting what the original sources said. And I’m afraid we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this, since I am familiar with the history you present, but my interpretation of it is different than yours. Suffice it to say there has long been a cultural divide in Peekskill, as there has in the rest of the country. My position remains that political disagreements are never a justification for violence — especially violence whose sole goal is to restrict freedom of expression. Whether you agree or disagree with the positions being expressed does not make the attempt to stifle them any less “shameful.” And my opinion is based, not simply on my own view, but on the fact that most people in the Peekskill area have long refused to acknowledge the Hollowbrook incident. At this point, it’s pretty much forgotten, but it was also something few people would talk about years ago. I think we can safely surmise that it was not a part of their history of which most people were proud — which, to me, is synonymous with being “ashamed.” At any rate, the Hollowbrook Drive-In, which was on the site of the picnic grounds, is apparently now being turned into a housing development, and this was merely a footnote to the history of the drive-in. So I think we’ve sufficiently beaten the story into the ground, and I will not bring it up again.
R.H., I don’t really want to get into this here, but you’re using contemporary information to discuss historical context. Nobody knew at the time that Stalin’s atrocities ranked “with those of Hitler,” which is in itself a questionable statement. Stalin had been our valued ally just four years previously, and had certainly never attacked the U.S. What informed the local populace at the time had nothing to do with thoughts of nuclear annihilation and everything to do with the anti-union politics of the local newspaper, the Peekskill Star, which inflamed its readership and incited the riot. The fact that mobs gathered announcing they would drive all the “Jews and niggers” out of town is all anybody needs to know about the nature of this event. If this wasn’t “shameful,” nothing is.
I’ve looked through the list here for every theater in Queens, Jackson Heights, and Astoria, and cannot find anything that sounds like what I remember. Anybody aware of a theater on the south side of Northern Blvd., west of Junction Blvd. but east of Woodside?
That was a Jerry Lewis Cinema?? Wait a minute…I think I remember this! Was it open under another name for a while in the 70s? Because I already said elsewhere that I remembered seeing Airplane! at the Bedford Playhouse, which is right up the road…I had completely forgotten that there was once another theater here. But now that you mention it, I might have seen Airplane! here! Wow, my mind is going…
I am not absolutely certain, but I believe this was the venue for one of the most shameful episodes in Westchester (and American) history: the infamous “Peekskill riots” that occurred in 1949 when Paul Robeson was invited to perform at a concert. The information I’ve been able to dig up says the concert was first scheduled for August 27 at “a picnic grounds called Lakeland Acres” or “The Lakeland Picnic Grounds, a former golf course.” Violence caused that concert to be cancelled; a rescheduled concert was successfully held on Sept. 4, but the attendees were subsequently stoned as they attempted to leave via the single road out — which had to have been Oregon Road. I’ve read elsewhere that the Drive-In was the site, but I’m now unable to confirm this. Whether it was or not would depend on when the Drive-In actually opened — if it was after 1949, it could be on this site. If not, then they were neighbors on Oregon Road. Anybody know?
There seems to still be hope for this. This passage appeared as part of a larger article on Brewster day laborers in The Journal News on Dec. 3:
In recent years, Brewster has embarked on capital projects to revitalize the business community, including a massive $38.2 million undertaking to build a new wastewater treatment plant and extend sewer lines throughout the village. That project is nearing completion. This year, the village was awarded a $200,000 grant to restore the Cameo Theater and other storefront facades and for streetscape enhancements.
I think, before the link to that Plan Putnam Online article referred to at the top possibly disappears, the relevant portion should be posted here:
(From “Quonset hut faces final days"
CARA MATTHEWS
THE JOURNAL NEWS
Original publication: March 05, 2001)
[Putnam County National Bank president Dean] Ryder and others remember the vibrant Carmel Movie Theatre of the 1950s. The venue closed in the early 1960s.
“I can remember walking up the street with my nickel in hand to go to the movies,"
said Dean Ryder, 54.
Corn Kemp of Carmel, who is in his 80s, said he remembers there were church
services in the Quonset hut, in addition to movie showings.
His daughter, Pat Kemp, said she was an avid moviegoer in the 1950s, when she
was in grade school. She saw “Tom Thumb” and Disney movies at the theater.
There were live shows before the Saturday matinees, she said, such as
performances by magicians.
“They would have people lined up on the weekends to see the movies,” she said.
Wow, thanks for all this information. My parents lived in Peekskill from 1979 until they both passed away in the last two years…I had been by the Beach Shopping Center numerous times but, for some reason, the fact that the theaters were gone had escaped me. During the last year they did a major overhaul of the center; a new satellite CVS building was constructed, and the old Grand Union was demolished along with other stores on that side of the complex to make way for a Super Stop & Shop. So where were the theaters? I had been under the impression they were in a seperate building on the western end of the parking lot, but now I can’t picture what’s still there.
I’m really confused, especially after viewing the photos above. I remember seeing some movies at the Fair back in the late 60s-early 70s, when I still lived in Queens. But for some reason I’ve gotten it confused with a theater that was on Northern Blvd. I’ve been through there a few times over the last couple of years and thought the Fair had been converted to other uses; now I realize the Fair is on Astoria Blvd. and I was on Northern Blvd. So what was the theater on Northern that had a similar art deco marquee?
Aha! I think we’re getting closer to the truth. I may have been wrong about the Westchester Mall Cinema being a UA theater; I was probably thinking it was because the Jefferson Valley Mall Cinema, also on Route 6 further east, is a UA theater. So the quad in Mohegan Lake was a GCC theater, and so was the Galleria Mall Cinema. Now the only question is, was the Galleria Mall always a twin, or was it ever a quad? And if it was a twin, where the heck were you? It seems likely you were indeed in the Galleria, since I can’t think of any other inside-mall theaters, and I seem to recall that it was a quad. On the other hand, if the Galleria was a quad, where was the White Plains Cinema I & II?
This theater is located in the Jefferson Valley Mall, which is on Route 6 just off the Taconic State Parkway in Yorktown Heights, NY. I believe the mall opened in the late 70s-early 80s. The entrance to the theater complex is from the lower level of the two-story mall. In the last few years Simon Properties did a major overhaul of the mall, and I think there is talk of expanding it to compete with larger malls, such as the Danbury Fair and Cortlandt Town Center. I’m unsure whether the theater has been expanded or subdivided since it opened; I seem to recall it originally being a six-plex, but I’m having trouble finding details anywhere. And I’m sure I’ve seen movies here, but not in many years, and nothing about the interior stands out in my mind.
The back of the big screen, white with WHITESTONE DRIVE-IN in huge red letters, was a familiar landmark alongside the Hutch — even during all those years when the massive interchange construction project was going on. Seeing just another single-story building with a generic multiplex sign has never been the same.
I will always remember this theater, because it is where my wife and I saw the original “Star Wars” for the first time. And I think it is also where I took my daughter to see “Pocahontas” — she’s 15 now, and has been obsessed with Pocahontas ever since. I couldn’t believe it when they reduced the place to dust!
Well, clearly Jimmy Dyer won’t be recommending anything, because I believe since the time that story originally ran he was convicted of racketeering or accepting bribes, or whatever it is mayors in Connecticut always do, and spent some time in prison. It’s a shame, because when I attended Westconn in the 1970s it was the same Jim Dyer, before he became mayor, who took my yearbook photo!
Anyway, I remember going to the Palace with a bunch of college pals to see “Blazing Saddles” when it first came out, which must have been 1974. We laughed our asses off. (I saw it a second time at the Ridgefield Cinema, in case anybody is cross-referencing entries and wants to know why I said I saw it there.) It’s a shame this theater is gone. I hope the stories about a slowly progressing rehabilitation are true.
PKoch, yes I was born in 1955 — pretty clever of me, eh? But I was born in the Bronx. Moved to Elmhurst in 1963, went to PS 13, IS 61, and Newtown High School, and then pretty much disappeared in the mid-70s when I went off to college and hardly came back. My parents hung on there until about ‘79, then moved up to Peekskill.
p.s. I just noticed that you have the address as Rego Park, NY. This is the way it was listed in ads, but I can assure you, it was most definitely in Corona, as was the rest of Lefrak City. Junction Blvd. was the postal dividing line between Elmhurst and Corona. Rego Park was on the other side of the LIE. Lefrak always refused to acknowledge Lefrak City’s actual location; in fact, in much of their advertising they claimed it was in “Forest Hills North” whatever that is!
When I moved to Junction Blvd. as a kid in 1963, Lefrak City was still under construction. The third section, closest to 99th Street, did not open until 1965; I can recall the signs on the buildings promoting new apartments for rent with the slogan “Wellington ‘66” in reference to one of the buildings in the Australian-themed section. But I also recall that when I began 6th grade at the new I.S. 61 further north on 99th Street in September 1966, the shopping center on 99th was already in place and open. So I’m guessing the shopping center opened during 1965 or early '66. I also recall the promotional advertising for the new movie house — which included flyers that were distributed all over the neighborhood — always referring to it simply as the new “UA Theatre” never as the UA Lefrak or anything like that. For some reason, I have a distinct memory of the initial advertising referring to it as a Skouras theater. But my recollection, which may be flawed, was that the theater was closed, at least temporarily, by the time I left the area in the mid-70s.
I just remember the Bay Terrace being a really modern, classy, almost space age place — not run down like the Arion in Middle Village, or as cozy as the Drake in Rego Park — and because it was a Loew’s theater, it had much more “sophisticated” (to my young sensibilities) graphics and promos than the little independent or small-chain theaters. You know, their “let’s all go to the lobby” shorts and “Now, our Feature Presentation” had much better production values…:)
The comments above confirm my memories of the Arion having that round plaster ornamental thing on the ceiling. But as I posted under the Drake, I’m pretty sure there was also plenty of peeling paint — which, considering all the other comments here, seems quite in character.
And “JakeGittes” — great name! But I saw Chinatown at the Elmwood — at least, the second time. I can’t remember where I saw it the first time. It’s possible we went ALL THE WAY OVER to Bayside to the Bay Terrace, as my father was sometimes wont to do…
That ad illustrates a funny thing I recall from living in the area in the 60s and 70s: Lefrak City would never acknowledge it was actually in Corona. Hence, the ad lists both Drake and UA Lefrak City under Rego Park — of course, they’re (relatively) nowhere near each other!
I think the Drake was my favorite of all the theaters in the area. It just always seemed so cozy and comfortable. Some of the names mentioned above are very familiar, but I honestly can’t remember whether I saw The Ipcress File, or Wait Until Dark, or Butch Cassidy, or any of the other pictures of the mid-late 60s or early 70s at the Drake, or the Arion, or someplace else. It was basically wherever my father decided to drive. But I do have a distinctive memory of one of the theaters — probably the Arion — having peeling paint all over the ceiling, on the rare occasion when they turned on the lights.
And wow — “London Lenny’s” — there’s a name I had completely forgotten! Did I ever actually eat there, or just go past? I have no idea!
Having finally figured out the uses and intricacies of Photobucket, here’s the June ‘68 exterior photo I described above. Note that I had some color adjustment problems in scanning the transparency, but I’ve at least now gotten it so it’s not entirely blue!
View link
No, I am familiar with the Polk…I had already looked at the photos that were posted (yes, the ticket-seller with tank top was intriguing!) and that’s not the theater I was thinking of. (I do remember going to the Fair…I’m curious as to whether the Polk was showing adult films even back in the late 60s-early 70s, because I have a vague memory of it being a kind of “forbidden” theater.) Anyway, I really think it truly is a case of combining the Fair and the Boulevard in my memory. (Heck, until I started browsing this site, I had completely forgotten there was ever such a thing as the Jerry Lewis Cinemas! Possibly proof of the mind’s ability to protect itself…)
Thanks, Warren, but this is still bugging me. In fact, it had me up last night! I was trying to think of what the name of the theater I’m thinking of could possibly be, because my mind is convinced it was a short name — like Fair — not a long name, like Boulevard. I just looked at EdSolero’s photos of the current incarnation of the Boulevard, and the problem is it shows a theater on the corner with a marquee at the end of the block. I’m convinced the theater I’m thinking of was in the middle of the block. And it seems to me that the old Food Fair supermarket, with its tall tan brick tower sign, was a block or two away. The only explanation I can come up with is that I’ve somehow combined my memories of the Fair and the Boulevard, and convinced myself that the Fair was the theater on Northern. Short of taking a trip down there to check it out for myself, I’m not likely to resolve this anytime soon!
I apologize for the vulgarity — I hesitated to do it, but was quoting what the original sources said. And I’m afraid we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this, since I am familiar with the history you present, but my interpretation of it is different than yours. Suffice it to say there has long been a cultural divide in Peekskill, as there has in the rest of the country. My position remains that political disagreements are never a justification for violence — especially violence whose sole goal is to restrict freedom of expression. Whether you agree or disagree with the positions being expressed does not make the attempt to stifle them any less “shameful.” And my opinion is based, not simply on my own view, but on the fact that most people in the Peekskill area have long refused to acknowledge the Hollowbrook incident. At this point, it’s pretty much forgotten, but it was also something few people would talk about years ago. I think we can safely surmise that it was not a part of their history of which most people were proud — which, to me, is synonymous with being “ashamed.” At any rate, the Hollowbrook Drive-In, which was on the site of the picnic grounds, is apparently now being turned into a housing development, and this was merely a footnote to the history of the drive-in. So I think we’ve sufficiently beaten the story into the ground, and I will not bring it up again.
R.H., I don’t really want to get into this here, but you’re using contemporary information to discuss historical context. Nobody knew at the time that Stalin’s atrocities ranked “with those of Hitler,” which is in itself a questionable statement. Stalin had been our valued ally just four years previously, and had certainly never attacked the U.S. What informed the local populace at the time had nothing to do with thoughts of nuclear annihilation and everything to do with the anti-union politics of the local newspaper, the Peekskill Star, which inflamed its readership and incited the riot. The fact that mobs gathered announcing they would drive all the “Jews and niggers” out of town is all anybody needs to know about the nature of this event. If this wasn’t “shameful,” nothing is.
I’ve looked through the list here for every theater in Queens, Jackson Heights, and Astoria, and cannot find anything that sounds like what I remember. Anybody aware of a theater on the south side of Northern Blvd., west of Junction Blvd. but east of Woodside?
That was a Jerry Lewis Cinema?? Wait a minute…I think I remember this! Was it open under another name for a while in the 70s? Because I already said elsewhere that I remembered seeing Airplane! at the Bedford Playhouse, which is right up the road…I had completely forgotten that there was once another theater here. But now that you mention it, I might have seen Airplane! here! Wow, my mind is going…
I am not absolutely certain, but I believe this was the venue for one of the most shameful episodes in Westchester (and American) history: the infamous “Peekskill riots” that occurred in 1949 when Paul Robeson was invited to perform at a concert. The information I’ve been able to dig up says the concert was first scheduled for August 27 at “a picnic grounds called Lakeland Acres” or “The Lakeland Picnic Grounds, a former golf course.” Violence caused that concert to be cancelled; a rescheduled concert was successfully held on Sept. 4, but the attendees were subsequently stoned as they attempted to leave via the single road out — which had to have been Oregon Road. I’ve read elsewhere that the Drive-In was the site, but I’m now unable to confirm this. Whether it was or not would depend on when the Drive-In actually opened — if it was after 1949, it could be on this site. If not, then they were neighbors on Oregon Road. Anybody know?
There seems to still be hope for this. This passage appeared as part of a larger article on Brewster day laborers in The Journal News on Dec. 3:
In recent years, Brewster has embarked on capital projects to revitalize the business community, including a massive $38.2 million undertaking to build a new wastewater treatment plant and extend sewer lines throughout the village. That project is nearing completion. This year, the village was awarded a $200,000 grant to restore the Cameo Theater and other storefront facades and for streetscape enhancements.
I think, before the link to that Plan Putnam Online article referred to at the top possibly disappears, the relevant portion should be posted here:
(From “Quonset hut faces final days"
CARA MATTHEWS
THE JOURNAL NEWS
Original publication: March 05, 2001)
[Putnam County National Bank president Dean] Ryder and others remember the vibrant Carmel Movie Theatre of the 1950s. The venue closed in the early 1960s.
“I can remember walking up the street with my nickel in hand to go to the movies,"
said Dean Ryder, 54.
Corn Kemp of Carmel, who is in his 80s, said he remembers there were church
services in the Quonset hut, in addition to movie showings.
His daughter, Pat Kemp, said she was an avid moviegoer in the 1950s, when she
was in grade school. She saw “Tom Thumb” and Disney movies at the theater.
There were live shows before the Saturday matinees, she said, such as
performances by magicians.
“They would have people lined up on the weekends to see the movies,” she said.
Wow, thanks for all this information. My parents lived in Peekskill from 1979 until they both passed away in the last two years…I had been by the Beach Shopping Center numerous times but, for some reason, the fact that the theaters were gone had escaped me. During the last year they did a major overhaul of the center; a new satellite CVS building was constructed, and the old Grand Union was demolished along with other stores on that side of the complex to make way for a Super Stop & Shop. So where were the theaters? I had been under the impression they were in a seperate building on the western end of the parking lot, but now I can’t picture what’s still there.
I’m really confused, especially after viewing the photos above. I remember seeing some movies at the Fair back in the late 60s-early 70s, when I still lived in Queens. But for some reason I’ve gotten it confused with a theater that was on Northern Blvd. I’ve been through there a few times over the last couple of years and thought the Fair had been converted to other uses; now I realize the Fair is on Astoria Blvd. and I was on Northern Blvd. So what was the theater on Northern that had a similar art deco marquee?
Aha! I think we’re getting closer to the truth. I may have been wrong about the Westchester Mall Cinema being a UA theater; I was probably thinking it was because the Jefferson Valley Mall Cinema, also on Route 6 further east, is a UA theater. So the quad in Mohegan Lake was a GCC theater, and so was the Galleria Mall Cinema. Now the only question is, was the Galleria Mall always a twin, or was it ever a quad? And if it was a twin, where the heck were you? It seems likely you were indeed in the Galleria, since I can’t think of any other inside-mall theaters, and I seem to recall that it was a quad. On the other hand, if the Galleria was a quad, where was the White Plains Cinema I & II?
This theater is located in the Jefferson Valley Mall, which is on Route 6 just off the Taconic State Parkway in Yorktown Heights, NY. I believe the mall opened in the late 70s-early 80s. The entrance to the theater complex is from the lower level of the two-story mall. In the last few years Simon Properties did a major overhaul of the mall, and I think there is talk of expanding it to compete with larger malls, such as the Danbury Fair and Cortlandt Town Center. I’m unsure whether the theater has been expanded or subdivided since it opened; I seem to recall it originally being a six-plex, but I’m having trouble finding details anywhere. And I’m sure I’ve seen movies here, but not in many years, and nothing about the interior stands out in my mind.
One of the rare instances when I can associate seeing a particular film with a particular theater…pretty sure I saw the original “Airplane!” here.
The back of the big screen, white with WHITESTONE DRIVE-IN in huge red letters, was a familiar landmark alongside the Hutch — even during all those years when the massive interchange construction project was going on. Seeing just another single-story building with a generic multiplex sign has never been the same.
Could be mistaken, but my recollection is that in the 70s, it was the UA North Street Cinema.
I will always remember this theater, because it is where my wife and I saw the original “Star Wars” for the first time. And I think it is also where I took my daughter to see “Pocahontas” — she’s 15 now, and has been obsessed with Pocahontas ever since. I couldn’t believe it when they reduced the place to dust!
Well, clearly Jimmy Dyer won’t be recommending anything, because I believe since the time that story originally ran he was convicted of racketeering or accepting bribes, or whatever it is mayors in Connecticut always do, and spent some time in prison. It’s a shame, because when I attended Westconn in the 1970s it was the same Jim Dyer, before he became mayor, who took my yearbook photo!
Anyway, I remember going to the Palace with a bunch of college pals to see “Blazing Saddles” when it first came out, which must have been 1974. We laughed our asses off. (I saw it a second time at the Ridgefield Cinema, in case anybody is cross-referencing entries and wants to know why I said I saw it there.) It’s a shame this theater is gone. I hope the stories about a slowly progressing rehabilitation are true.
PKoch, yes I was born in 1955 — pretty clever of me, eh? But I was born in the Bronx. Moved to Elmhurst in 1963, went to PS 13, IS 61, and Newtown High School, and then pretty much disappeared in the mid-70s when I went off to college and hardly came back. My parents hung on there until about ‘79, then moved up to Peekskill.
p.s. I just noticed that you have the address as Rego Park, NY. This is the way it was listed in ads, but I can assure you, it was most definitely in Corona, as was the rest of Lefrak City. Junction Blvd. was the postal dividing line between Elmhurst and Corona. Rego Park was on the other side of the LIE. Lefrak always refused to acknowledge Lefrak City’s actual location; in fact, in much of their advertising they claimed it was in “Forest Hills North” whatever that is!
When I moved to Junction Blvd. as a kid in 1963, Lefrak City was still under construction. The third section, closest to 99th Street, did not open until 1965; I can recall the signs on the buildings promoting new apartments for rent with the slogan “Wellington ‘66” in reference to one of the buildings in the Australian-themed section. But I also recall that when I began 6th grade at the new I.S. 61 further north on 99th Street in September 1966, the shopping center on 99th was already in place and open. So I’m guessing the shopping center opened during 1965 or early '66. I also recall the promotional advertising for the new movie house — which included flyers that were distributed all over the neighborhood — always referring to it simply as the new “UA Theatre” never as the UA Lefrak or anything like that. For some reason, I have a distinct memory of the initial advertising referring to it as a Skouras theater. But my recollection, which may be flawed, was that the theater was closed, at least temporarily, by the time I left the area in the mid-70s.
I just remember the Bay Terrace being a really modern, classy, almost space age place — not run down like the Arion in Middle Village, or as cozy as the Drake in Rego Park — and because it was a Loew’s theater, it had much more “sophisticated” (to my young sensibilities) graphics and promos than the little independent or small-chain theaters. You know, their “let’s all go to the lobby” shorts and “Now, our Feature Presentation” had much better production values…:)
The comments above confirm my memories of the Arion having that round plaster ornamental thing on the ceiling. But as I posted under the Drake, I’m pretty sure there was also plenty of peeling paint — which, considering all the other comments here, seems quite in character.
And “JakeGittes” — great name! But I saw Chinatown at the Elmwood — at least, the second time. I can’t remember where I saw it the first time. It’s possible we went ALL THE WAY OVER to Bayside to the Bay Terrace, as my father was sometimes wont to do…
That ad illustrates a funny thing I recall from living in the area in the 60s and 70s: Lefrak City would never acknowledge it was actually in Corona. Hence, the ad lists both Drake and UA Lefrak City under Rego Park — of course, they’re (relatively) nowhere near each other!
I think the Drake was my favorite of all the theaters in the area. It just always seemed so cozy and comfortable. Some of the names mentioned above are very familiar, but I honestly can’t remember whether I saw The Ipcress File, or Wait Until Dark, or Butch Cassidy, or any of the other pictures of the mid-late 60s or early 70s at the Drake, or the Arion, or someplace else. It was basically wherever my father decided to drive. But I do have a distinctive memory of one of the theaters — probably the Arion — having peeling paint all over the ceiling, on the rare occasion when they turned on the lights.
And wow — “London Lenny’s” — there’s a name I had completely forgotten! Did I ever actually eat there, or just go past? I have no idea!