California's Main Squeeze-- Part 2

Joe Bono is in his 70s and remembers citrus groves stretching in all directions around Fontana. His family farmed 200 acres and in 1936, his mother opened a roadside restaurant and deli with an orange stand on Route 66, now Foothill Boulevard.

Fontana was known for its grapefruit, but Joe bought crates of oranges to squeeze at the stand, one of six along this stretch of 66. They stayed open late at night to take care of tourists trying to avoid the heat of the day.

However, the coming of the freeways doomed most of the Route 66 businesses. Joe took over the restaurant after his mother died. In 2007, word came that the stand was to be destroyed, but it has since been restored, but still sits unused with one of those "Giant Oranges" outside of it.

According to David Wickline's Images of 66, Vol. 1 (2006), Bono's Italian Restaurant and Deli (1952-1999) at 15395 Foothill Blvd. started as the Bono Family Fruit Stand and Groves in 1936 selling grapes, lemons and oranges. It is currently not open and owned by Joe Bono who plans to reopen it, but planned widening of the road would destroy the building.

Go Big Orange. --RoadDog