Coffee Shops & Hangouts
Before Starbucks and the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and all the other specialty coffee outfits, traditional coffee shops dotted the landscape. In Hollywood, many such placess could be found on Hollywood Boulevard and surrounding neighborhoods. Coffee Dan’s, Aldo’s, the Copper Skillet, Biff’s, Tiny Naylor’s, the Snow White coffee shop, Norm’s, the Plaza and the Brown Derby served food and coffee in booths and tables and at the counter.
If you wandered into these coffee shops and sat at the counter, there was usually a paper napkin and a stainless steel spoon waiting for you. If you ordered coffee only, the waitress would bring you a cup and saucer and fill up your cup with hot coffee. Cream and sugar were next to the menu in front of you. Every so often, the waitress stopped by to refill your cup. When you were finished and got up to leave, she brought you your check and put it in front of you. You took your check to the cashier, who was often your waitress, and paid your bill. How much for coffee and refills served in a real cup and saucer? Ten cents. Today, you can get in line at Starbucks, order a coffee in a paper cup, drop a tip in the tip jar and look for a place to sit. Cost? $$$.
