Peggy Sue’s Diner: Once you spot Peggy Sue’s Diner in Yermo, Calif., you will always recognize it. The large Peggy Sue’s Diner lettering on the building and the colorful facade and entrance to the building set the stage for what is inside. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Barstools and Tables: This small room in Peggy Sue’s Diner featuring the diner bar and bar stools along with a few booths was the original diner. Once open it did not take the owners long to begin enlarging the facility. Today the restaurant has almost 10,000 square feet of space. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
Just off of Interstate 15 but miles from everything sits a large 50s era diner in Yermo, Calif. The first time I came across the diner a few years ago I had to wonder how can this place not just survive but thrive in the middle of the Mojave Desert. But after that first stop Peggy Sue’s Diner we have enjoyed stopping at this nostalgic 50s diner when we travel in southern California.
The diner opened in 1954 but was purchased in the 1980s by John “Champ” Gabler Jr. and his wife Peggy Sue. They moved to the desert from Los Angeles following careers in entertainment business and purchased the small country diner. John worked for years at Knott’s Berry Farm and Peggy Sue was an actress and worked in the movie industry.
After opening, the couple decided to enlarge the restaurant and furnish it with memorabilia from their former careers around a 50s diner theme. The restaurant today is almost 10,000 square feet and it is busy every time we have visited the diner.
There is so much to see while at Peggy Sue’s Diner. The walls are filled with photos and memorabilia making the visit feel like you are visiting a museum rather than a restaurant. There are life sized sculptures of the Blues Brothers and Elvis. It is always fun to wander through the facility and admire the various 1950s era collections visible in every section of the restaurant.
The facility is divided into three sections, the diner with its diner bar and stools, diner chairs and booths, a pizza parlor and a “five and dime” gift store that features Hollywood related items, 50s music and travel items. The five and dime also features an ice cream bar where you will find an array of flavors of ice cream and other drinks and snack items.
Outside of the diner you will find a shaded eating area to enjoy a snack while the kiddos enjoy the dinosaur park consisting of metal sculptures of some of the popular prehistoric creatures. There is a large lot next to Peggy Sue’s where truckers and RVers can park and they allow overnight parking there as well.
When traveling it is fun to find these gems that show up in unusual locations. Peggy Sue’s Diner, Yermo, Calif. certainly is an iconic beacon in this part of the California desert. Barstow, Calif. is the closest town of any size about 10 miles to the south.
The next time you are driving on I-15 through the California desert, follow the signs to Peggy Sue’s Diner. Take the Ghost Town Road exit (yes there is a ghost town of Calico just a few miles up the road) and enjoy stretching your legs and filling your “inner tank” at this iconic diner.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Jukebox Entrance: The exterior entrance to Peggy Sue’s Diner in the shape and style of a 50s era jukebox is unforgettable. The colorful graphic entering the diner is eye catching. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Greetings: Upon entering Peggy Sue’s Diner one is greeted by Betty Boop in the spacious entrance. To the left is the ‘five and dime’ gift spot featuring movie collectables, 50s travel items and other souvenirs and an ice cream bar with many flavors of ice cream. To the right is the diner bar stools and booths, which set the stage for the experience and memorabilia filling every room of the diner. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Blues Brothers & More: The Blues Brothers are featured in one area of the diner along with an assortment of license plates from almost every state in the country. On the wall is a small sampling of what diners will see as they walk about the space and view photos and posters covering the walls. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Elvis: A life-size sculpture of Elvis and a 50s era jukebox attract attention in a corner of one of the diner’s rooms. The fun also spills out into the shaded eating area featuring large metal sculptures of several dinosaurs. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com