The hamburger joint Fat Eddie’s was located at 501 Wilshire Blvd, in Santa Monica, California, and was open 24 hours a day.

This colorful menu showing Fat Eddie as a walking, talking, smiling hamburger-man advertised the Eddie-burger, a quarter pound of US Graded Beef, served with relish and pickles (tomato and onion on request). The date was 1956 and the hamburger cost 50c.

Fat Eddie was affiliated with Biff’s and Tiny Naylor’s, two other well-known eating establishments in Southern California during this era of drive-ins and diners.

WW ‘Tiny’ Naylor was a respected and highly successful businessman who was given his affectionate nickname because of his 6ft 4in height and weight of 320lbs.

The centerpiece of his chain of Tiny Naylor’s was built in 1949 on the corner of La Brea and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood and was a prime example of Googie architecture. Sadly, it was demolished in the 1980s.

Tiny Naylor’s went out of business in the 1980s but the Naylor family remains a respected force in the restaurant business with the Du-Par’s chain of restaurants.

Courtesy Bob Reiss