This interesting-looking fellow is making a toast to the wine list for the Hearthstone Restaurant in Carmel-by-the Sea, California. We’d like to sit at the bar and talk to him!

Mark Thomas was a hotelier and restaurateur who started his hospitality company in the 1950s by establishing a motor lodge in this beautiful part of the world. He also had the catering contract at the Monterey Fairgrounds and operated at least one other restaurant – the Outrigger, which was a Tiki bar at the Monterey Canning Company that served exotic rum-based cocktails like The Zombie and had a Polynesian theme.

The Hearthstone seems to have been a classier joint – it has been described as a “place of quiet elegance, enhanced by candlelight and soft music.”

We’re still researching the background to this great vintage menu art – we will keep you posted.