The Palm Garden Grill and George Stratos
I recently received an email from Grace Stratos, daughter of George. Here is what she said:
"I just wanted to let you know that my dad, George Stratos, was the owner of the Palm Garden Grill from the 1950's until 1980 when he sold it and it was turned into a fast food joint. He called me last night saying he had "googled" Palm Garden Grill out of curiosity and came up with your article. Well, you really made his day so I wanted to thank you for that!"
I emailed George and he wrote...
"My memories of the Palm Garden are of being a caretaker to the old-timers that spent the day at the bar. I acted as their banker, gave them an allowance from their social security checks. It was a wonderful experience. In the late 70's the character of Market St. changed. It just wasn't like the glory days of the 50's and 60's,
My favorite story was when people would say, "Hey George, you
have such polite French countermen working for you." Most of my workers were
Greeks.
"What do you mean?" I would ask.
"They are always saying "s'il vous plait".
I figured out they were saying with their Greek accent... "sea food plate."
I loved the Palm Garden Grill and regret the San Franciscans of
today will never know what it meant to the life of the City, just as they will
never know what the Crystal Palace Market meant, or Sutro Baths, or Playland at
the Beach.
Thank you Georgia, Georgette, and George for making this memory possible.
Bill Roddy
George Stratos and his talented family
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