I remember the Zims in Corte Madera, but I think the one in Kentfield was first. It was where Willy's is now, by Woodlands Market. Seems to me it was there when I was going to Kent School in the late '50's. Good to see my old SRMA buddy Lemo on here.
I remember the Zim's at Bon Air and I used to get the banana milkshakes and french fries. It was the place to hang out after parties or having been in the City. Remember the bio rhythm machine in the lobby? There used to also be a Zim's in Terra Linda but I didn't go to that one as often. Now The Peppermill in Corte Madera....That place was great too!
"remember zim's at bon air in greenbrae - besides marin joe's, it was the only place open late with decent food plus, i knew beverly zimmerman, daughter of zim's"
I too knew the zims. forget the brother's name. I dated her a while after they moved to the woodlands from SF. real straight, wanted to get unstraight. folks were strict. She later became a moonie I think. really. whew.
I remember Zim's in Corte Madera. We used to hang out there after playing a dance or just cruising around. My all time favorite ( and it stil is ) was the Apple Pie Ala mode or for the house speciality there was hot apple pie covered with chedder ( S ) cheese and topped with hot maple syrup ( THE BOMB )
The last Zim's was on Van Ness in SF and it closed about 5 years ago ( Sad ) I wanted to but the sign but they said the contractor already had plans for it ??
If you like 50's nostalgia try Mells in SF http://www.melsdrive-in.com/ Great Fun
SteveC, sorry it took so long to reply, but no the Starlite Club was located where Northgate 1? or 2 is located. By where the Longs drug store is. Boobies was further down the highway going south. Whilshier Towers was also close by. There used to be 2 turn offs from the highway that would have taking you to Merrydale Rd. The roads are still there but thee now part of the frontage road
carp, that goes back so far I'm wondering if that is the same place I read about where they moved a Star-Kist tuna exposition building from Treasure Island Fair to Terra Linda and made it a drive-in restaurant. My facts are sketchy so if you or anyone can clarify that would be great.
The best burgers ever? It had to be Boobys, it was located across the highway from the Civic Center, where A&W is now. There was no highway exits at the time, just pull off the highway into the dirt parking area. It wasn't even a parking lot! The best bugers ever, anywhere, anytime, ever!!!
If I remember right Zim's burgers came with grill marks which always mean a good burger.
Zim's CM and also next to Woodland's Market in Kentfield were either before or after something else. Was it "Hungry House" I'm racking my brain.
Also, and maybe this should be a new thread but did anyone else frequent the Copper Penny which was Hyat House (think Hyat Hotels) before that ? and located where the Round Table pizza was and recently torn down and rebuilt as a bank.
There was also a restaurant circ mid 80's in a nice building between Big 5 and Sizzler. Barcelino menwear corporate was there last I checked. What was the name of the place ?
In the 1950s, a hamburger at Zims was SIXTY CENTS. Totally out of our family budget except for big treats. We never went out for meals anyway except when on a car trip, when we might get a hamburger at the Dairy Queen...15 cents as I recall.
A school lunch was 25 cents, to give you some perspective. (still a splurge we rarely got to experience).
I took kiddie dance lessons from Anna Halprin at the Corte Madera Rec Center. My mom remembers it being 25 cents per lesson, per child. A big splurge for us. Little did we guess....
Although we seem to be digressing from Zims, if I am correct, the wine shop my wife and I run today at 207 Corte Madera Ave. was the old Highway Fountain. There is a picture of the store with its big awning unfurled, two doors down at the Hair Concepts Barber Shop. When I was remodeling the shop almost three years ago, a man came in and said he used to work there when he was a kid. He said he used to scoop ice cream that was located in the front of the store on the right as you walked in. The building was built in 1921. I hope that helps jog a few more memories.
The Highway Fountain was a small store and it was in Corte Madera on Corte Madera Ave. If you were going to Mill Valley from Corte Madera, it was on the right before you start winding up the hill.
OK. Different Suzanne. Claude and Mary? Nope. Hiway fountain? hmmm...Do you mean the one that was next to the Edgewater Inn, in Corte Madera. Immediatly north of the freeway exit? Do you mean the Fountain Motel in Tam Junction? I'm not sure which one you mean...
I'm not the Suzanne you're thinking of, but I did go to LCM in Kindergarten and NC in first grade. I lived on Corte Madera Ave. Do you remember the Highway Fountain? Claude and Mary? My brother Jim worked there when he was a kid.
Agreed. It was always a way special treat. Remember how it was always kind of dark there? They were back in that corner of the building, with that over-hang over the walk way, and shaded by the Grant's store next door.
Remember how you could watch the cooks working? That was cool. Now and again huge flames from the broiler would spring up, fueled by delicious burger grease. They also had really good apple pie. You could buy a whole pie and take it home.
Off-topic, but I'll give it a shot: Are you Suzanne Zanzi??? I don't remember anyone else around my age who would know about Zim's and was around the old neighborhood ,who's named Suzanne. If that is you, I think you lived on Mohawk, or maybe Lakeside. Anyway, I was in Kindergarten at NC with you. Mrs. Bell was the teacher.
There were Zim's in San Francisco in several places, and I think they were all good hamburgers. Zim had a all you can eat at the coner of Ocean ave. and Geneva, but did last very long. Zim was a very sucessful operation as was the Hippo restaurant which was on Vaness ave. The Hippo had every hamburger that you could think of, and I don't know of any hamburger restaurant that has as many hamburgers as the Hippo to this date.
Thanks for jogging my memory about Zim's! We used to go there with my mom and my dad would take the bus home from the City and we would have a burger there. They WERE the best burgers and nothing owns up to them to this day in Marin - everything is too yuppie, too complicated, too vegan/vegie....But I have found a close replacement for that juicy, yummy burger at Bobby's Cafe at Loch Lomond Marina. That is my absolute favorite place to go in Marin - unpretentious, low-key, the smell of the water and the ocean air, nice friendly people, GREAT food! But I sure do miss Zim's, too and Littleman's Market! Totally forgot about that, too!
Does anyone remember the original Zims in Corte Madera? It was a small shop, and was located next to Littleman's Market which stood where the Town Center is today.
I have searched ever since for a hamburger that tasted as good. Not even the burgers I make at home ever measure up. Supposedly, the beef was ground fresh in the back of the shop every day. Maybe that was the secret.
Maybe the memory is so vivid because it was one of the first places in my childhood where I was allowed to go on my own with a friend. My friend and I would go for a burger and end up ordering a second one to share. I can still feel the juice trickling down my hands and arms when I took that first bite.
Later on Zims opened more and larger restaurants, but they were never the same.
