Memories of Eldorado, the Athens Eatery Where The Squalls, B-52’s Once Worked
Editor’s Note: Guitarist and singer Bob Hay co-founded the legendary Athens act The Squalls in 1981. The band is immortalized, along with R.E.M., Pylon, Love Tractor, B-52’s, Howard Finster, Flat Duo Jets and Kilkenny Cats in the Jim Herbert-shot 1987 documentary “Athens, Ga. Inside/Out” and the band opens and closes the doc’s soundtrack on I.R.S. Records. Hay also performs in the folk revival combo Bob Hay & the Jolly Beggars. In 1986, Hay married Pylon vocalist Vanessa Briscoe. This summer, the couple celebrates their 30th wedding anniversary.
Eldo, A Remembrance
By Bob Hay
I arrived in Athens in November 1978, probably not the first and certainly not the last musical pilgrim to come to our little town. The summer before that, I’d been living in Kennebunk, Maine, where I worked as a waiter in a lobster restaurant. My friend and future Squalls bandmate Ken Starratt, whom I’d met at the frequent jams we had there, told me that “something was happening” with music in Athens, and so that fall, Ken and I headed south in his old VW van, stopping along the way to catch some Grateful Dead shows.
When we arrived in Athens, Ken took me to the Eldorado, a vegetarian restaurant on the Southeast corner of Washington and Hull streets in the Morton Theatre building. He had done some masonry and carpentry work for the Eldorado and thought I could apply my restaurant experience there to help them out. The Morton has since been purchased by the city and has been wonderfully restored, but back then, the theater was rundown and home to many a pigeon. The only tenants were The Book Back, a great used book store, photographer Gary Crider, and on the corner, Eldorado, a lively restaurant with a spiral rainbow painted ceiling and a vibrant hippie ethic.
I began working at the Eldorado as a waiter, but soon expanded my duties to include dish-washing and cooking. At the time I arrived there, the owners were off on a tour of India, so the operations of the restaurant were very fluid. It was really for a brief time an almost utopian communal situation. People stepped up and did their thing. Jay Weidener was the head waiter and acting manager. Wayne Autry cooked a mean omelet and home-fried potatoes and had a big following for his breakfast treats. Lu Dominski and Cheryl Rogers cooked up some down-home delicacies: collards, fried okra, squash casserole, black-eyed peas, etc. — bought from local farmers — that the people needing lunch in downtown Athens just loved.
When I first arrived at the Eldo, as we called it, The B-52’s were a recently anointed legend. They had just put out their hit first album and had moved to New York. Less than a year previously, Fred Schneider had been waiting tables at the Eldo, and The B-52’s had been practicing in the room behind the kitchen, in what had once been, the story goes, the embalming room in the funeral home that had once occupied the place. Shortly there after, I saw The B’s perform at the Georgia Theatre, and my mind was appropriately blown.
There was lots of other music going on as well. The embalming room had been taken over by Turtle Bay, a band that later took the name Men in Trees. There were frequent solo guitar performances at the Eldo. I particularly remember the virtuoso finger-picking of Marion Montgomery and Les Jampole. There were a couple venues in downtown that my friends showed me — The Last Resort, T.K. Hardy’s, Sparky’s, and Tyrone’s O.C., where I first saw Pylon.
At the time, downtown Athens was pretty much a ghost town. Other than Wuxtry and Chick Piano, there was not much on Clayton St. besides a few dime stores that would close soon enough. Washington Street, just west of the Eldo consisted of a shuttered furniture showroom, a couple of empty store-fronts, and a shabby-looking food machinery company. At the end of the block, where the 40 Watt is now, was the Potter’s House thrift store. Up the hill to the east was a parking lot and the Athens Observer, our weekly paper at the time, whose staff were faithful Eldo diners. (As a general rule, anywhere you see a parking deck today was in 1980 a parking lot — except the one at College and Washington, which once was the site of the Triple Cinema.) A couple blocks away at the corner of Pulaski and Broad St. was the Phoenix natural food store to which we ran many errands when we ran out of some vital ingredient. Somewhere nearby, Rick the Printer had a coffee shop – there were several different locations at different times including where today the Caledonia and the Go Bar are.
In January of ’79 I rented (for $90/mo.) the house at 187 Tibbetts St., just off Pulaski by the railroad tracks. I was playing music with a lot of different people. Ken and I continued to play some Dead tunes and at some point played the open mic at Tyrones. Lu and I worked on learning several Bowie and Roxy Music songs. Sometimes, Alan Walsh (future Squalls bass player) who was a cook at the Eldorado, and Tom Johnson who was hanging out, and I would go into the old embalming room after closing and “borrow” the Turtle Bay equipment and have hours-long jams. We called these sessions Bach Lava.
In researching this article, I’ve gone through some old notebooks. One item I found was the April 1979 receipt from Chick Piano from when I bought my white TEISCO Apollo guitar. (Many guitar people call it a Mayqueen, but it’s not. Although it’s the same shape, the pick-ups and set up are quite different.) I also came across some lists used in planning the 1980 Eldo Christmas party. The band consisted of myself, Ken, Alan, Mig Little (Eldo cook and future Squalls drummer), Lu, Peter Cline (Love Tractor Mark’s brother and Eldo waiter), Allen “The Baker” Clement, and Steve May. I can’t recall who played what, but the song list included songs by the Grateful Dead, Roxy Music, Talking Heads, and Bowie, along with some classics like “She’s Not There,” “For Your Love,” “Poke Salad Annie,” and “The Letter.” I wish I had a tape!
At some point, I became the person in charge of creating the lunch menu for the Eldorado. Each day, after either having worked the breakfast shift or just coming by to eat breakfast, the lunch cooks informed me of the day’s entrees, and I would write out the menu and go to get copies of it made. There was a small copy shop (copies were fairly new in those days) on Clayton next to Chick Piano where I would get them copied, although later I would go to Kinko’s, which had higher quality reproduction. When in high school, I became fascinated by the “psychedelic” lettering in San Francisco posters and so I transferred that fascination to the Eldorado menus, each day creating a new logo for the restaurant to memorialized many an event, whether it be a holiday like April Fool’s Day or a more personal event such as the wedding of Joel Cordele and Alice Samson. (See a photo gallery of Eldorado menus here).
The Eldorado was a little art colony populated by musicians, painters, sculptors, photographers, potters, poets, and writers. We all worked together to cook healthy food for our customers. After work we would hang out, go swimming at Ball Pump, go for walks, make art, play music, go to see music and dance. Same as it ever was.
Cue “In My Life” by the Beatles.
On Saturday, July 16, The Squalls will perform as the featured act at the 7th annual Tomatoes at Terrapin, a benefit for the Athens Nurses Clinic, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016. The event at Terrapin Beer Co. will run 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and features sandwiches made with locally grown tomatoes. For tickets and more info, visit: athensnursesclinic.org
Richard L. Eldredge is the founder and editor in chief of Eldredge ATL. As a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Atlanta magazine, he has covered Atlanta since 1990.
Jim Kitchens
August 18, 2022 @ 11:02 pm
I enjoyed your article. I knew many of the people mentioned including some who worked in my sister-in-laws restaurant, The Sonhouse, Athens first vegetarian restaurant (ca 1971- about 73).
Having previously been a news photographerI have many pictures from Athens c 1967 – 1990s. You mentioned the Bald Pump. I have party pictures from one of the great July 4th parties, including the “mud” people. I’ll try and get some on my Facebook page in the next day or two. It will not include the Mud People, but many others including some of my band mates from The Meathogs.
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Vicki Miller
February 10, 2022 @ 10:47 pm
If anyone has the recipe for the breakfast custard, please share.
Julie
January 14, 2023 @ 12:17 pm
Morning custard. I would give an arm for it.
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February 9, 2021 @ 3:48 pm
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Nathan Dayan
October 5, 2020 @ 10:29 am
Les was my cousin and unfortunately he has passed away. He played down in NOLA at the neutral ground a fair amount.
Eamonn
September 17, 2020 @ 12:00 pm
Very cool. I just found your Record in a Charity Shop here in Ireland and looked you guys up. I’ll give it a listen later with a few beers
Nielsen
April 18, 2020 @ 1:25 am
I lived out at Bald Pump plantation in 1975 with other art students and a woman named PAM who I believe was the original owner of the Eldorado. It was such a good place to eat and hang out. I also remember Alice’s Restaurant….which had a complete table with place settings, only it was upside down, anchored to the ceiling!
Trisha
June 18, 2022 @ 7:36 pm
Ball Pump Plantation on Belmont Rd.
We used to live at the Hog Farm down Belmont Rd during the late ‘70’s.
Dl Swain
April 17, 2020 @ 11:25 am
Disco waitroids. Tomato, cheese and sprout sandwiches on WW bread. Morning custard. The scene was definitely alive at the Eldo.
Kim Cook
March 8, 2019 @ 9:07 am
Great article! Thanks so much. Back in the early 80’s, I think the Eldorado became the Bluebird Cafe after it moved. I loved the Bluebird’s morning custard and huevos rancheros! My favorite waiter was Corbit. That place had a terrific vibe and I miss it dearly!
Bill King
May 6, 2018 @ 11:07 am
I interviewed the B-52’s at the Eldorado way back when. Good times.
curt mayer
February 8, 2018 @ 5:44 pm
Who owned the el dorado?
The B-52s and a tour of their old Athens, GA haunts (1989) - Online Info Portal
February 8, 2018 @ 3:43 pm
[…] began at the now-defunct Bluebird Cafe, formerly named the Eldorado, a vegetarian eatery where Fred Schneider used to wait […]
The B-52s and a tour of their old Athens, GA haunts (1989) - Big4All.Org
February 8, 2018 @ 3:02 pm
[…] began at the now-defunct Bluebird Cafe, formerly named the Eldorado, a vegetarian eatery where Fred Schneider used to wait […]
Adria Stembridge
October 30, 2017 @ 7:31 pm
My family moved to Athens around 1971. A few years after getting settled in my dad bought farm land out in Winder, where he planned to build a house. Before any of that happened, we bought a Ford 8N and a disc harrow, and began planting okra. I was just old enough to be able to help plant seed with our small garden tractor. I picked some okra but my older brothers had the brunt of the hard work. Every weekend we picked many bushels of prickly okra, and loaded the wooden containers into dad’s old Ford pickup.
We drove to Athens and sold our okra to grocery stores and restaurants. I distinctly recall parking in downtown, and walking a half bushel of okra into the Eldorado kitchen via a side door. I was too little to remember names or really “meet” anyone, but I can say that I helped grow the okra that so many enjoyed at Eldorado.
Roy Bell
October 2, 2016 @ 9:06 pm
Great article, thanks for bringing back all the memories to. We remodeled and built so many of the hangouts down town back then …. The Last Resort, Tyron’s OC, Sparky’s, on and on. Plus I met my wife in 1977 while she was in college here. The article bright it all back to me thanks a million.
Peggy Gugino
September 10, 2016 @ 10:38 pm
This was our very favorite place to eat and hang out in Athens!!! Thank you for sharing your memories!
I remember one visit when there had been a swarm of termites! We sadly had to wait and come back another thing day!
Lee Beasley
July 15, 2016 @ 3:19 pm
Thanks for sharing, Bob!
Lee Beasley
July 15, 2016 @ 3:18 pm
My future wife, Sharon Barrington, who was a student in the art department, and I, hanging around town after graduating from the J School, loved to eat there in the middle 70s. She remembers the egg salad sandwich on the great whole bread with sprouts, and we both loved the black beans on brown rice topped with fresh tomatoes and sour cream.
Gary Crider was a housemate at 153 1/2 Milledge Terrace in Athens’s Five Points .
neighborhood, as was Zeke Addison, who provided the concert speakers for the first B-52’s performance at Julia’s and Gray’s house on Milledge.
Thanks for shar
john singleton
July 15, 2016 @ 1:02 pm
Wow! Love getting squashed by the Nostalgia Train:) Miss Athens immensely.
Alice Sampson
July 14, 2016 @ 6:42 pm
Great article, Bob! Thank you for reminding us of the great times!
Lola montgomery
July 15, 2016 @ 12:35 pm
Only objection is that this article is too short…. I kept thinking, yes! And what about…..
And greetings to all you stalwarts
Joanne Bergstrom
January 18, 2023 @ 1:03 pm
Hi Alice! Joanne Waterman (Bergstrom) Here. Wishing you and Joel the best!
John (Pat) Huie
July 14, 2016 @ 6:33 pm
Wow, that really fills in some history for me. I helped start and then managed the Eldo…and then, completely burned out, left town about 1978. I never really knew what happened after that. The care and originality lavished on the daily menus tells a lot.
Gary Evans
July 14, 2016 @ 3:08 pm
Bobby Hay! Those were the days my old companion. When my wife Jenny and I first moved to Athens in 1977 we went to the Eldorado one time and Fred from the B-52s was our waiter. I was studying journalism and dabbling with the Squalls — or perhaps vice versa — but I do remember it was in that room that I sang the IRA with you guys — an utterly politically incorrect tribute to Bobby Sands, the Irish revolutionary who died while on a hunger strike during his incarceration. It’s really hard to capture, and certainly to overstate, the arising energy of Athens in those days, as art and music reached critical mass. Hershel Walker didn’t hurt either.
lisa mende
July 14, 2016 @ 12:57 pm
when I would come to visit my brother , Nathan, we would stagger to the Eldo, early morning sleepless. Skinny dipping at The Ball Pump, Eldo, and the amazing energy and people of Athens were what decided me to leave L.A. in the dust and have a better life.
Caroline Aiken
July 14, 2016 @ 10:55 am
A MILLION!
Caroline Aiken
July 14, 2016 @ 10:54 am
Wow! Look at those beautiful menus! Brings back a milliin memories, thank you!!! El Dorado was my go to place in Athens for food, communityx aolice, and surprise 🙂
Ron Arrington
July 14, 2016 @ 10:48 am
Yes and their bread baker was a fellow named Les Jampole, (sic) who lived in a Tee Pee on the Oconee river … I think he was a musician as well … Played Acoustic Guitar with Cracked Wheat? … Cracked Wheat was a bluegrass band around that time .,. I often wondered what happened to good ole’ Les …
Alice Sampson
July 14, 2016 @ 6:44 pm
Unfortunately, Ron, he passed away ten years or so ago. He was a great guy.