Let’s go back over 50 years when Big Scoop Restaurant at the Delta Fair shopping centre underwent a renovation to have a different feel.
Aiming to create a “fun atmosphere” of an old-fashioned ice cream parlour, the changes in June 1972 included removal of a plastic wall menu plaque behind the counter, tables that were too small and a rope that had been used partition off the rear of the restaurant.
Manager Mel Nelson described said the new concept would bring customers back to the 1890s.
The golden era was also reflected of the costumes of the waitresses who were waiting on booth seats, in the lighting, in the ornate mirror and the honky-tonk piano.
It was the concept that led to the rejuvenation of Gastown, said Nelson.
“We’re selling fun as opposed to merely selling food,” he said.
The restaurant had opened at the shopping centre the previous summer.
