Today's photo shows Lawrence Welk and some of his fans at Nixon's Restaurant in July of 1957. Richard M. Nixon's brother, F. Donald Nixon, opened his first restaurant in Whittier, followed in 1956 by a second restaurant at 1501 W. Commonwealth Blvd in Fullerton. Eventually, he also opened a restaurant and nightclub at Harbor and Katella (adjacent to Disneyland) in Anaheim..
In Jan. 1957 Howard Hughes loaned Donald Nixon $205,000 to keep the chain of burger joints out of bankruptcy. But it only postponed the inevitable, and soon the business was sold off to pay creditors. Unfortunately, I don't know which of the restaurants is pictured above, but it was taken when the chain was scrambling to get back on its feet.
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According to the Arcadia postcard book about Fullerton (Morris/Richey/Thomas), "Donald Nixon's questionable business practices remained a lifelong embarassment to his brother,... and the president had his younger brother's telephone wiretapped in order to monitor his financial activities."
The Fullerton location became Hanzel Oldsmobile until the mid 1990s. I seem to recall the Whittier location, Whittier Blvd near Painter Ave became Whittier Chry Plymouth.
ReplyDeleteI love how you always have details for us, bulldog! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe Whittier location was a Carhop style drive-in called "Whorlies" after Nixon lost the property. I remember going there in High School while Crusing Whittier Blvd. Nixon's Cousin had a Sea Food place (Seafare Inn) on Whittier Blvd at First Ave. the last street in LACo before La Habra. It is still there but unknown if still in the family.
ReplyDeleteThis is what I think: The Lawrence Welk Show
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Whittier, too, and remember the drive in hamburger joint -- Nixon's-- on Whittier Blvd.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the address of the family residence and the grocery store owned by the Nixon's?
I remember going to Nixon's in Anaheim when I was a small child, and it was NOT a nightclub . . . my mom wouldn't have taken a three or four-year-old to a nightclub! We met a friend for lunch who had her grandson in tow. I recall having our lunch outside on a picnic-style bench, and a scaled-down train ran on a track around the property. I would love to find a photo showing the Anaheim location.
ReplyDeleteWhich Nixon Restaurant was Lawrence Welk at?
ReplyDelete