FILLMORE : Carhops Serve Up the Past for Customers at Revitalized Drive-In Restaurant

Michael Torres had nostalgia in mind when he decided to revitalize Dino’s Frosty Mug, a rundown hamburger stand on Fillmore’s main drag and the only restaurant with carhops in the county.

The drive-in, a former A&W; restaurant that was once a main hangout for Fillmore youths who blasted “Rock Around the Clock” on their AM radios, offers a glimpse of decades gone by.

“I want to bring it all back,” said Torres, 39. “I’m trying to originate the nostalgia of what it was like back then.”

Torres’ plan includes a monthly “Cruise Night,” and the idea is revving up like a ’57 Chevy ready to drag. The Ventura Street restaurant, now sporting a fresh coat of neon-green paint and new carhop stalls, is once again bustling.

On Friday, more than 100 collector street rods and muscle cars showed up at the restaurant, Torres said.

“We’re attracting people from all over Ventura County, and they’re even coming in from the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys,” he said.

Saugus residents Alan and Jina Ortiz and their two children made the drive even though they had to leave their champagne pink 1940 Ford sedan at home with radiator problems.

“This is a clean night out, full of fun,” said Jina Ortiz.

Fillmore resident Bob Uber, whose bright orange 1940 Ford Deluxe sedan is known to friends as the Big Pumpkin, said he enjoys the event in part because it’s not hard on the wallet.

“We park, walk around to see all the cars and chat with people, maybe grab a burger,” said Uber, 46.

Torres attributed the attraction to nostalgia. “It’s ‘American Graffiti,’ ” he said, referring to the George Lucas film. “I have the only carhop in the area, and people love reliving that era.”

Torres has leased the property from owner Dean Fahl since October.

“Going back to the original carhop is bringing back the fun. People are responding to it because there are none of these left,” Torres said, scanning the restaurant.

Besides Dino’s, the nearest drive-in restaurants to Ventura County using carhops are the San Fernando Valley’s Mels Drive-in in Woodland Hills and Bob’s Big Boy in Canoga Park.

Pat Askren, an avid car enthusiast and chief of Fillmore’s volunteer Fire Department, said the Fillmore restaurant was the big hangout when he was a kid.

“It’s nice to bring back the nostalgia of it all,” said Askren, 47.

Once again, customers can wait in their cars while burgers are delivered by sneaker-clad waitresses.

“Look at them,” Torres said, motioning toward customers in carhop stalls. “They love being in their cars. That’s what it’s all about.”