The Mystery of Alice

[Traintime]

A fairly standard Wallace #2422 footed rectangular tray, missing an original sticker and engraved very oddly. It reads "Alice's Resaurant over Farm House over 1969-1971". Yes, restaurant is mis-spelled. First some background...Alice May Brock (1941-and alive in Provincetown Mass.) opened "The Back Room" around 1965 and closed down in 1966 after 1 1/2 years. Located at 40 Main Street, it is more recently kniwn as Theresa's Stockbridge Cafe. Arlo Guthrie's famous song and album was not issued until 1967, and the movie came about in 1968. Meanwhile, Alice Taylor in Sky-Londa California where Highway 35 and La Honda Road meet, had taken over an old store which may have been operated as a restaurant already. Sometime after the film was in circulation, she re-named her location "Alice's Restaurant" at an unknown date in the '60's. She then reportedly sold it at another unknown date in the early '70's. (This was before everyone else had jumped on the bandwagon of opening Alice name places, including the Malibu pier joint.) The tray would seem to suggest it might related to the operating dates of the hutch in California hill country, but why is it lacking a proper engraving and what of the so-called "farm house"...there is nothing to suggest the site was ever a farm nor the structure ever a house? The stated address is 17288 Skyline Boulevard, Woodside CA 94602. Happy New Year all you Alice's still out there!! And Arlo to boot!

[Traintime]

BTW-Alice's is not far from Buck's of Woodside, ground zero of techdom appetite.

[Traintime]

A possible clue? Surfacing is a vitreous china bowl made by TEPCO in California (bay area). This maker went out of business, reportedly in 1968. That would leave a narrow window in which they may have produced wares for the nearby Alice's, and most likely handled through a supplier such as Dohrmann. Given TEPCO's demise at that point, it's highly unlikely to have been made for anyone else opening after the movie came out, and TEPCO wares were never used beyond western states. Of course, the china sample is undateable, which leaves the potential of a much earlier user between the 1930's and 1968..but none has been clearly documented so far. Herewith the sample images:





So...it seems possible that Alice's La Honda ordered china in 1968 as part of a planned name change which may have only become effective starting with a new year in 1969. And that could explain the start date on the silverplate tray.