License To Drive / Reality Bites Filming Locations and The Story of Bob’s Big Boy Restaurant

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Back in 1958, on the site of a poultry farm in Downey, Harvey and Minnie Ortner opened their dream restaurant, "Harvey's Broiler". The Ortner's hired local architect Paul Clayton to design their restaurant. The restaurant was to be built on the bend of firestone blvd. Clayton took advantage of the location and designed the restaurant to appear as if drivers were coming towards a restaurant that was sitting in the middle of the highway! With a towering Jet Age neon sign and acres of parking, under a cool 50's boomerang canopy, Harvey's Broiler literally stopped traffic!
Just as in the classic film "American Grafitti", 50's drive-in restaurants served as the hub for teenagers who were old enough to drive, but not quite old enough to drink. The Broiler was an American phenomenon. It was "The Place" where the cool crowd hung out, cruised, "schmoozed", and showed off their rides, while flirting with Harvey's cute carhops.

Car customizing legends like Larry Watson and Ed "Big Daddy" Roth hung out here, too. Hot rod and custom magazines featured Harvey's action. They featured the "world's largest automotive exposition", with an unbelievable 5,000 cars rolling in on weekend nights at the restaurant. The Broiler was such as hit that teenagers tried everything to get a chance to hang out at Harvey's Broiler.

The era of the drive-in diner eventually faded. Yet, the Broiler continued to thrive. It became a prime location for local film making. The restaurant appeared in "Heat", with Robert Dinero, the "Beach Boys Story", and the Tina Turner movie, "What's Love Got to do with it?" The restaurant also provided a backdrop for various television shows, music videos, and other movies. Yet by New Years Eve of 2001, the Broiler was unceremoniously gutted and turned into a used car lot.

Bob’s Big Boy is at 7447 Firestone Boulevard in Downey, California and was featured prominently in License to Drive, Reality Bites, and Can’t Hardly Wait.

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