My Mom Carol Francis on left. Tom at register. December 21st 1962. By John Francis.
Tom Lovely's Buffet was a cafeteria-style restaurant at 336 Grand Avenue, at least 1962–1977.
It was run by Tom Lovely. Employees in 1969 included Dorothy Fong, Rivera Serafin and Patricia Hollis.
It was a popular spot for groups to hold lunch meetings, so the most common reference in old newspapers are meeting notices. Groups included the Christian Business Men's Committee of Oakland, the Oakland Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the Mental Health Association of Alameda County, the East Bay Evangelical Fellowship, the Merritt Toastmasters Club, the Oakland Civic Affairs Council, the Keynoter's Growth Club, and others. The Alameda County Democratic Women's Study Club met there for many years.
Tom Lovely
Tom Lovely came to California in 1943, and ran The Percolator Restaurant in Oakland until 1948 when he moved to Hayward. 2 Tom Lovely's Grill in Hayward appears to have operated from at least 1958–1960 in the Lucky Shopping Center downtown. In 1960, Tom Lovely sold his grill in Hayward to Ted Elliot of Walnut Creek, 1 but Elliot continued to use the Tom Lovely's Grill name for a time.
Links and References
- Tom Lovely's or Elliot's Hayward Daily Review April 29, 1960
- Check Out the Menu at Tom Lovely's Grill Hayward Daily Review May 23, 1958
