In Massachusetts, we have had a long history and love affair with donuts. I remember a time in the 1950s and 60s when every city or town had at least one Mom & Pop Donut (or Doughnut) shop. In fact in Medford, I can recall Town Line Donuts on Salem Street near the Fellsway, Country Donuts (still operating and now called Donuts with a Difference) in Medford Square as well as Pauline’s Donuts in Medford Square and West Medford Square. There was also Donut Time on Main Street in South Medford. Not far away, about a mile from the Medford/Somerville town line was Johnson’s Doughnuts in Somerville.
Dunkin’ Donuts and Mister Donuts were national chains with roots here in the Bay State. In fact two brother-in-laws Bill Rosenberg and Harry Winokur started with a place called the Open Kettle in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1948. This business morphed into Dunkin’ Donuts by 1950 and due to a disagreement about how to grow the chain, Winokur left Dunkin’ and started Mister Donut in 1956.
The Original Dunkin’ Donuts, Southern Artery in Quincy, Mass. Photo courtesy of Dunkin’ Brands
The original Dunkin’ Donuts after it had a retro renovation, December 4, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera
Mister Donut, Route 3A, Weymouth Mass. May, 1992 photo by Larry Cultrera
More recent chains have developed locally in Massachusetts such as Honey Dew Donuts which started in Mansfield in 1973 and Heav’nly Donuts started in Methuen in 1975. A long-time favorite of mine, Kane’s Donuts in Saugus started in 1955 by the Kane family and now owned by the Delios family since 1989 has expanded to 3 locations in the last few years with a small location in Boston (2015) and another larger location on Route 1 south in Saugus (2019).
Original Kane’s Donuts location, Lincoln Ave. Saugus, Mass. November 25, 2011 photo by Larry Cultrera
Another small place is Donut Villa in Malden which has been around since the 1970s and was recently bought by new owners a few years ago. Now known as Donut Villa Diner, these new owners have expanded to locations in Arlington and Cambridge.
Donut Villa Diner, Malden, Mass. July 4, 2016 photo by Larry Cultrera
Also, for a few years we had Krispy Kreme Doughnut franchises in New England (most have been closed).
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Medford, Mass. June, 2003 photo by Larry Cultrera
Canadian Donut Chain, Tim Horton’s opened a few stores, mostly in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I believe they took over former Bess Eaton Donut locations.
Tim Horton’s Donuts location, Near Fall River, Mass. Photo by Larry Cultrera
Other notable donut shops in the Greater Boston Area are Anna’s Handcut Donuts in West Roxbury, Gail Ann Coffee Shop in Arlington, Coffee Time Bake Shop in Salem, Ziggy & Son’s Donuts also in Salem and Donna’s Donuts in Tewksbury. Further afield is Donut Dip in West Springfield.
Back in July of this year, Denise and I changed up our usual destination for breakfast on Saturday mornings. We decided to try a new place that opened just over a year ago on the eastbound side of the Revere Beach Parkway (where U.S. Route 1 crosses over) in Revere, Massachusetts. This new place is The Dandee Donut Factory, the only Massachusetts location of a small chain out of southern Florida that serves breakfast and lunch along with their really delicious hand cut donuts. Part of the draw was the fact that it opens early – 5:00 AM, 7 days a week and the other convenient reason is no matter where we actually have gone to breakfast in the recent past, we usually end up about a mile away from where this donut shop is on a regular errand!
The Dandee Donut Factory, 1141 Revere Beach Parkway, Revere, Mass. July 17, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera
The chain founded in 1980 by Peter Spyredes and Frank Pucine with a shop located at 1900 Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach Florida. Another was opened at 1422 South Federal Highway in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Spyredes and Pucine sold the company to current owners David Zion & David Groom in 2012 who subsequently opened a new location at 3101 North State Road in Margate, Florida and the Revere, Massachusetts location more recently in December, 2022.
General Manager David Ferrara with a table of regular customers. December 7, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera
General Manager David Ferrara schmoozing with the Kelly sisters. December 7, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera
Some of the crew – left to right includes… Kevin, Gio, Shelley and Shawn December 7, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera
Jazmin – one of our favorite servers, with the selection of donuts. December 9, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera
Another view showing a selection of donuts December 9, 2023 photo by Larry Cultrera
Back in July after trying it out for the first time, we realized that they offered a decent breakfast and lunch menu besides their really great donuts. Breakfast items consist of egg sandwiches and egg dishes, from the All-American (2 eggs any style cooked to order with sides), Seven types of 3-egg omeletes including a “build your own”. Sides include bacon, corned beef hash, and sausage (choice of patty or links). They also offer sides of potatoes – homefries and hashbrown.
Lunch at The Dandee Donut Factory features various hot or cold sandwich items as well as Grilled Cheese, 1/2 pound Angus Burgers, Footlong Angus Beef Hot Dogs, Homemade Soups, Beef Stew or Chili, Salads and Salad Platters, along with sides of French Fries, Homefries and potato chips.
But the star of the show is certainly the donuts (51 varieties) which are larger than other commercially available donuts (read Dunkin’). I highly recommend their filled donuts like the Bavarian Creme or Boston Creme along with Blueberry, Lemon and Apple, these are huge and completely filled. Also their Apple Fritters are among the best I have ever tried. They also feature Coffee Rolls, Maple Bacon donuts and other frosted delectables. Bagels and Muffins are available as well.
The Dandee Donut Factory is very much involved with the community and helps with fundraisers and other charitable endeavors. Sometime in November, Denise and I now visit The Dandee Donut Factory on both Saturday and Sunday mornings for breakfast and the occasional weekday lunch. In closing if you are ever in the Boston area, you should definitely head over to Revere and check out The Dandee Donut Factory, they are open 5:00 AM to 3:00 PM, 7 days a week, tell them I sent you!!!!
Back on June 17, 2008 when this blog was less than a year old, I wrote a post called Interesting places I have photographed… https://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/2008/06/17/interesting-roadside-places-i-have-photographed/. Now in July of 2021, I want to revisit this subject – to expand, update and utilize the pretty much completed digital archive I now have at my disposal. After spending the better part of four years scanning (and in some cases, re-scanning) all the 35mm prints and slides for all my Diner photos (dating from my first diner photograph, the By-Pass Diner – November 29, 1980 until switching totally to digital cameras in the summer of 2008) as well as scanning most if not all of my roadside related photos, I am now back to hopefully writing my blog on a more regular basis!
This newly completed archive of scanned photos are now up to my personal standards as to how my photos should look. This means that to the best of my ability and 25 years of using Adobe Photoshop, that regardless of the lighting conditions of how each photo was shot, I have tweaked and enhanced all these photos to be as close to what I had intended them to be when I initially set up the shots back in the day. The differences will be noticeable if you compare some of the photos in that earlier blog post to this one because I am more than likely going to use some of those images again here.
I want to explain my decision to revisit this subject about unique or unusual buildings instead of something more Dinercentric. Being a long-time member of the Society for Commercial Archeology, my interest’s run the gamut from my first love of Diners to Drive-In Restaurants, Hot Dog Stands, and selective old-time fast food places. But the unusual shaped buildings, (termed Programatic Architecture) hold a special place as well. This interest might also go back to my childhood when I noticed restaurants in the local area shaped like a Clipper Ship or Take-Out cardboard Fried Clam Box. So when I had decided to start taking photographs of Diners, it was a very small step to including other commercial roadside architecture as subject matter.
In fact, as I have written before, the impetus to start the documentation of Diners, etc. with my own photos were the first three Diner books that were published just prior to me starting on this 40 plus year project, (Diners by John Baeder, 1978 – American Diner by Richard J.S. Gutman & Elliott Kaufman, 1979 – and Diners of the Northeast by Donald Kaplan & Allyson Bellink, 1980). In fact there were other Roadside Related books starting to be published that got my attention as well. I recall purchasing two of these books, the first of many, more than likely by 1982. The End of the Road by John Margolies and Vanishing Roadside America by Warren H. Anderson, both published in 1981.
The End of the Road by John MargoloiesVanishing Roadside America by Warren H. Anderson
Other books that came to my attention as well as into my personal library include; White Towers by Paul Hirshorn and Steven Izenour – published in 1979, California Crazy by Jim Heimann and Rip Georges – published in 1980, Main Street to Miracle Mile by Chester H. Liebs – published in 1985 and Orange Roofs, Golden Arches by Philip Langdon – published in 1986.
White Towers by Paul Hirshorn and Steven IzenourCalifornia Crazy by Jim Heimann and Rip GeorgesMain Street to Miracle Mile by Chester H. LiebsOrange Roofs, Golden Arches by Philip Langdon
But the book that became an inspiration for me to expand my photography to include the unusual and unique roadside commercial buildings was titled The Well-Built Elephant by J.J.C. Andrews. I bought it as soon as it was published in 1984 and was completely intrigued by it!
The Well-Built Elephant by J.J.C. Andrews
In his book, Mr. Andrews mentioned something about his growing up in my home state of Massachusetts, but did not really go into any details about his early life and very general info on how he came to pursue his own hobby of documenting these places. He did mention about being a tour manager for recording artists such as David Bowie and how late one night while riding on a tour bus between gigs, he saw a restaurant shaped like a hamburger somewhere. He knew he could not stop the bus and photograph it but was determined to get back there at his earliest convenience and document it. Unfortunately, when he did get back to that location, he found it had been demolished prior to his return! This led him to make an effort to document as many of these places as he could. This eventually gave birth to an exhibit of his photos and the publication of his book.
When I was planning this blog post I started doing a little research to find out more about Mr. Andrews. I knew I had read somewhere previously that he passed away at a young age and was surprised to find that he died within a year or two of the publication of his book. My research led me to a podcast featuring Tony Defries, who was the person behind the Mainman group of companies, the “first of its kind” rights management organization formed by entrepreneur and impresario Defries in 1972. This company supported and helped to develop the careers of various artists including David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Mick Ronson, Mott the Hoople, Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs, Dana Gillespie, Amanda Lear, Wayne/Jayne County, John Cougar Mellencamp and many others. This was the company that Jamie Andrews (as he was known by friends and colleagues) worked for from the mid-1970s until his death approximately ten years later. In this podcast, Mister Defries speaks mainly of Jamie Andrews and his involvement in Mainman as well mentioning the Well-Built Elephant book project. You can hear the podcast here… https://mainmanlabel.com/episode-31/ .
One of the recording artists that Mainman handled was Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens) who also grew up in Massachusetts. I am friends with Cidny thru Facebook and asked him about Jamie, trying to find out where he grew up. Cid seemed to recall Andover or North Andover but acknowledged that he could be wrong on that fact. He did have these thoughts on Jamie though… Hi Larry-Oh to see Jamie’s name brings back such good memories. Jamie was a dear friend from the late 70’s when I signed with Mainman to his untimely death. He was a sweet man and a wonderful photographer. After Cidny’s response, I decided to dig a little deeper and did a Google search on Jamie’s mother’s name Dora Andrews and found mention of Lawrence, Massachusetts, so Cidny was pretty close on his recollection as Lawrence borders both Andover and North Andover.
Anyway, after being a little long winded here, I will get to the meat of this blog post. By showcasing my own photos of these unusual buildings as a tribute to Jamie Andrews and his Well-Built Elephant book…
Lucy The Elephant – Margate, New Jersey
Photo by Larry Cultrera, November 19, 1985
In honor of the photo on the cover of Jamie Andrews’ book, I decided to go with one of my photos of Lucy the Elephant located south of Atlantic City in Margate New Jersey….. my photo is at a slightly different angle than his photo but the mid-November light was perfect for mine.
The Big Duck – Flanders, New York
Photo by Larry Cultrera, May 23, 1992
I chose one of my later photos of The Big Duck which was taken at a different location than when I first found it in the 1980s. This was one of two photos I shot on the one and only road trip to Long Island with my wife Denise. I love this shot as Denise is posing at the front door to the building….
Hood Milk Bottle – Museum Wharf, Boston, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, December 27, 2020
This is actually one of my newest photos. The bottle had just gone through a restoration and an updating. It really looks beautiful…
The Milk Bottle Restaurant – Raynham, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, August, 2001
This was very similar to the current Hood’s Milk Bottle. These two as well as Frates Restaurant in New Bedford were built for the Sankey Dairy who sold Ice Cream out of them. The Raynham location has been enlarged over the years and is a great little restaurant.
Frates Restaurant – New Bedford, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, September, 1992
Frates Restaurant had also been expanded and is currently operating as G & S Pizza, just minus the awnings around the bottle.
DuFresne’s Dairy Bar – Granby, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, April 29, 1984
I stumbled upon DuFresne’s Dairy Bar in mid-afternoon on a Sunday coming back into Massachusetts from Connecticut. The Milk Bottle and Can were attached to a regular building with a hip roof, just behind the two mimetic structures in this shot where the large awning is sticking out. Currently operating as the Earlee Mug Restaurant.
Salvador’s Dairy Ice Cream Stand – South Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, April, 1984
Here’s another place I stumbled upon on another Sunday morning road trip. I firmly believe that I had just purchased The Well-Built Elephant book not long before and had actually seen Jamie Andrews photo of it. But as I recall, I was not actually looking for this place. We more than likely left New Bedford after having breakfast at the Orchid Diner and headed west on U.S. Route 6. I surmise we took a left hand turn and just drove south from Route 6 and eventually found our way to this fantastic Ice Cream place. This is one of three photos I shot in 1984. I actually just took a ride last month to revisit this place and found out the business closed within the last two years, below is a photo from that trip…
Photo by Larry Cultrera, June 13, 2021
Gulf Hill Dairy Ice Cream Stand – South Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, June 13, 2021
On that same Sunday morning last month when we drove down to the South Coast of Massachusetts to revisit Salvador’s Dairy, our other destination was this other fantastic place within a few miles in the same town. I have to say the park-like area where this stand is located is one of the prettiest places I know in that area. It borders on Buzzards Bay.
Bayrd’s Indian Trading Post – Wakefield, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, May, 1985
Bayrd’s Indian Trading post was a unique little family business, operated by actual Native Americans. The property was sold for redevelopment and the building was gone by the end of the 1980s.
The Gallon Measure Gas Station – Buchanan, New York
Photo by Larry Cultrera, July 18, 1984
Here’s another place that I knew about from The Well-Built Elephant book. Located north of New York City in the little town of Buchanan. This place was built to resemble an old Gallon Measure oil can.
The Ship Restaurant – Lynnfield, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, August, 1989
The Ship Restaurant started out as a place called Ship’s Haven and looked like a Steamship. In the early 1960s the building was enlarged and rebuilt to look like this. The restaurant closed a few years ago and was demolished to make way for a new strip mall.
Sailor Tom’s House – Reading, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, April 9, 2006
Sailor Tom’s house was the final remnant of a unique roadside restaurant complex that closed in the late 1950s. Sailor Tom was in actuality Joseph Lafayette Thompson who built a small Seafood Grill on Route 28. The small building was expanded to become a large restaurant and the center of a 36 acre complex with a miniature New England Fishing Village and a former P.T. Boat as a gift shop. Thompson built his house on a rise just behind the complex. The house was torn down within the last 15 years or so for a new upscale housing development.
The Clam Box – Ipswich, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, May 25, 2009
The Clam Box has been in business under various operators since 1935. It was originally just the box shaped building with the flaps. It has been expanded over the years to have an enclosed ordering area as well as a side dining room. It is ultimately our favorite place to get fried clams, etc.
Prince Pizzeria – Saugus, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, April 22, 2006
Though technically not a different shaped building, Prince Pizzeria is noteworthy for the Leaning Tower that is part of the structure. The restaurant was originally part of the Prince Spaghetti House chain operated by Prince Spaghetti Company of Lowell, Massachusetts. There were other Spaghetti Houses I knew about in Somerville, Massachusetts and Quincy, Massachusetts. The chain ceased to exist by the early 1960s and this one was taken over by a former Prince employee, Arthur Castraberti and is still operated by his family today. This is the only one left.
The Leaning Tower Restaurant – Quincy, Massachusetts
Photo by Larry Cultrera, January, 1984
The Leaning Tower looks pretty close to the way it was built in the 1950s when it was part of the Prince Spaghetti House chain. This was right next door to the original Dunkin’ Donuts shop (a little of that building can be seen at the left). This was gone by the 1990s.
Twisty Treat Ice Cream Stand – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Photo by Larry Cultrera, July 11, 2005
I came across this one evening prior to eating supper at the Mayfair Diner in Northeast Philadelphia. The light was not perfect but this was the best image.
The famous 68 foot tall Hilltop Steak House sign. October 14, 2013 photo
by Larry Cultrera
Rumors have abounded for years about the imminent closing of the famous Hilltop Steak House located on U.S. Rte. 1 south in Saugus, Massachusetts. At one time this huge restaurant known for its 68 foot tall saguaro cactus shaped neon sign and herd of fiberglass cows on the front lawn was one of the top grossing restaurants in the country. In its heyday according to a Boston Globe article dated October 11, 2013, the Hilltop served more than 20,000 customers a week and grossed an estimated $27 million a year.
When I was younger I can recall the long lines waiting to get in. In fact I know that I was in those lines a few times over the years. Ironically, Denise and I moved to Saugus 13 years ago this coming December 1st and we actually have not eaten at the restaurant since before we moved from Medford. In recent years due to changing demographics as well as increased competition for the dining dollar, patronage of the restaurant has gone way down.
The first official word of the closing came back on Thursday, October 10th when Saugus town Selectman Steve Castinetti announced via Facebook that the town officials had received a letter from the management of the Hilltop about the upcoming closing on the 20th of the month (today). Ironically, since the announcement, the lines to get in to the restaurant have increased dramatically with reported wait times of over 3 hours at times!
The Hilltop was opened in 1961 by Frank Giuffrida with seating for 125 patrons. With expansions in the late 1960’s bringing the seating to 1200 with 5 function rooms, it became without a doubt, the largest restaurant in the area with 70,000 sq. ft. A later addition housed the Hilltop Butcher Shop. In 1988, a second smaller location was opened on the Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua, NH which operated until 1997. Another location was opened in 1991 on the South Shore in Braintree, ironically in a former Valle’s Steak House. This location closed in 2007. There was also a short-lived outlet in Hartford, CT (1992-93). The restaurant was sold to High Country Investor Inc. in October of 1994 and Frank Giuffrida passed away in 2003.
On Monday the 14th, I decided to get some final shots of the place while it was still in operation. The morning light was perfect after an early fog had lifted and as you can see, the photos are among the best I have ever shot….
Photo taken from the corner of the parking lot, October 14, 2013 by
Larry Cultrera
The fiberglass herd of cows on the front lawn. October 14, 2013 photo by
Larry Cultrera
The herd of cows from the opposite view, October 14, 2013 photo by
Larry Cultrera
The front of the restaurant looking south. October 14, 2013 photo by
Larry Cultrera
The famous sign from a different angle. October 14, 2013 photo by
Larry Cultrera
The Hilltop Butcher shop had been reportedly closed a few months ago, but a second Butcher Shop location in Weymouth, Massachusetts is to remain open. It is not known what will happen to the iconic sign and herd of steers, although rumors have said that the sign has been sold (I’ll believe it when I see it). I for one would love to see someplace like the American Sign Museum of Cincinnati, Ohio get this artifact http://www.signmuseum.org/ .
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