To explain the absolute uniqueness of a cafeteria that is in the heart of the historic district in Los Angeles, it’s probably best to go back to the beginning.
Clifton’s Cafeteria was opened as a haven for those homeless people financially devastated by the Great Depression, where food could be purchased for a little, or a lot, at a time of great unease. The kicker is that diners could pay what they wanted to pay. Clifton’s opened during the depression and was not only a place where weary heads could come, eat and grab a cup of coffee, but escape the rigors of the city in a place that looks like a Redwood forest.
In a word, it looks like Disneyland.
Large panoramas of waterfalls cover the walls, a wooden moose looks over the patrons as they dine on food much like what you would find at high school cafeteria. Jello, strawberry pie and a huge buffet line (Clifton’s seats 600 people) has served many of the era’s poor for free. Customers were called “guests,” employees were called “associates” and Clifton’s motto was, and still is, “dine for free unless delighted.”
Owners Nelda and Clifford Clinton opened the cafeteria in 1935 and fed thousands of people for free in the early years. Clinton went on to found Meals for Millions in 1946 where Clinton put up his own money to develop a soy derivative that would be nutritional and cost little. The non-profit organization ended up feeding famine-plagued countries around the world and eventually Clinton would focus on how to prevent chronic hunger. This concept was eventually recognized by Pres. John F. Kennedy.
It’s Clifton’s Cafeteria that is also credited for actually inspiring Walt Disney is some areas when he was designing the Disney parks around the country.
In a review from Mental Floss, the kitschy restaurant is spotlighted with several pictures of just how bizarre the restaurant is. The author calls Clifton’s “simultaneously calming and unsettling.”
The philanthropy of Clinton’s work and his restaurant was recently feature on NPR, where you can listen to the audio of a break down of why Clifton’s was so successful and how the family transformed their business into feeding the world.
The restaurant remains beloved and has had guests such as Jack Kerorac, Ray Bradberry and Ray Harryhausen.
The Clintons recognized the dire reality of the the times they lived in 70 years ago and were available to those who needed help. The cafeteria is the same today enmeshed in the historic part of Los Angeles where the kitcsh may be amusing, but which offers more history that is a statement of how one family’s legacy transformed not only a community but helped a nation.
