Opened in 1921 by Helen and Ed Power, the Nut Tree was, according to the press, a “culinary and curio oasis in a desert of endless roadway.”  With furniture commissioned from Charles Eames and artwork by Wayne Thiebaud the restaurant was light years ahead of its Pacific Standard Time – every detail from the furniture the the dishware to the way the food was presented was art-directed by Don Birrell, the Nut Tree’s head designer from 1953 to 1990.  ”We had a master plan for everything, from the design of the billboards to landscape architecture, interior design to the way food was arranged on the plate,” Birrell says. “We wanted to create a certain feeling, make people remember us.”

Credited as a visionary forerunner of California cuisine, the Nut Tree served up “heaping portions of comfort food with the freshest fruits and vegetables… Every meal came with a loaf of freshly baked bread along with the ubiquitous mound of cottage cheese or potato salad.”

The technicolor foodie-land brought in the celebrities in droves – Herbert Hoover scarfing up some turkey tamales shortly after losing the presidential election in 1932, and Humorist Will Rogers dined and Bing Crosby making pit stops on their road trip.  The kitchen staff also catered Queen Elizabeth’s 1983 state luncheon with the Nut Tree staff brewing 50 types of tea in ornate pots so that the Queen could choose her favorite.

By 1990, The Nut Tree finally succumbed to suburban sprawl and competition by every other roadside chain, but you can still check out a the historic eye candy on this Vacaville, Ca. website.