Did you know that when the first White Spot restaurant opened in 1928 at Granville and 67th the menu was mainly chicken and barbecue dishes?
In fact, when Nat Bailey was turning his mobile food business into his first sit-down dining venture, he was going to call the Marpole restaurant the Granville Barbecue. Beef supplies were low, so White Spot Barbecue Sandwiches - named after a restaurant on L.A.'s iconic Wilshire Boulevard - made chicken the star at this original "Granville House" location styled after a log cabin. It wasn't long before the restaurant became known simply as the White Spot, though a chicken remained in their logo for decades.
In those formative years, "Bailey’s goal was to offer unique meals using fresh local ingredients, and a few of White Spot’s first dishes were chicken pick’ns, a meat loaf dinner, BBQ chicken sandwich, triple triple burger, and blueberry pie," explains the Vancouver Heritage Foundation.
White Spot's limited edition 95th anniversary menu
To mark its 95th anniversary, White Spot is offering a special menu with nostalgic nods to the beloved Vancouver-born chain's roots.
Available now through July 16, the special White Spot 95th anniversary menu includes items like Crispy Fried Chicken, Half Rack Ribs & Crispy Chicken, a BBQ Chicken Sandwich, a BBQ Chicken Salad, fried pickles and the BC Chicken Burger with secret Triple “O” sauce. To add to the festivities, the menu will also feature a Birthday Cake Shake, while kids’ Pirate Paks will offer a birthday cake shake or birthday cake sundae option. They're also serving up slices of carrot cake (if you have any room left for dessert).
If you happen to remember White Spot's original "Chicken Pick'ns," or "Chicken in the Straw," though, take note, the restaurant isn't duplicating the original dish, but they are turning out golden-fried boneless chicken with a crunchy batter and juicy interior that hits the spot if you're craving fried chicken. It's served in a basket with fries and slaw, just like it should be.
As always, White Spot's fries are made with locally-grown potatoes (they've come from the same Delta family farm since 1935). And, if you know you know: Get a side of the Spot's signature Triple "O" sauce for dipping.
First drive-in restaurant and first to offer 'car hop' service
One enduring legacy of the White Spot on Vancouver's dining scene is its beloved "car hop" service. While doing a "drive through" to get a bag of take-out or a morning coffee and donuts is old hat, nearly a century ago the White Spot capitalized on the car craze. Legend even has it that Bailey opened the restaurant as a drive-in as a way to meet a customer's cheeky request that he bring the food to them in their car.
Not only did White Spot become "the first Canadian drive-in restaurant," but it also was the first in Canada to have car hops, servers who would "hop to it" to bring meals to guests in their cars. Now White Spot can also boast that it is Canada's oldest restaurant chain.
Sadly, the Granville House location sustained a fire in 1986 and was torn down (some pieces of the original white log cabin are on display on the wall inside the Dunsmuir Street location in downtown Vancouver) but several White Spots in Metro Vancouver continue to offer car hop service. In Vancouver, you can still park outside the restaurant, roll down your windows, and order a meal served on a long, narrow tray that stretches across the seats at the White Spot at 2518 W Broadway in Kitsilano.
Video: A taste-drive of White Spot's anniversary menu at the oldest Vancouver car hop
@forkingawesomevia This legendary Vancouver restaurant is 95 years young. 🎂 🥳#forkingawesome #vancouverbc 🎙️ @LindsayWR ♬ In the Mood
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