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| The Clock sure did have a sweet vintage sign, with a working clock. Did they reset it for daylight savings time? Did somebody have to get up on a ladder to reset that thing or was it remotely controlled from inside? I guess we will never know. |
It opened in 1974 as part of a chain headquartered in Southfield, Michigan and was one of three Clocks in the area. The franchise ended and the Alpine Clock continued on independently.
The place had diverse clientele including regulars, truckers and usually a good share of kids, being one of the few places youth could gather late at night.
The Clock had table-top juke boxes that for $0.25 would play Neil Diamond, Elvis, Journey or Madonna tunes. There was even some Barney The Dinosaur on there which some friends and I would sometimes play specifically to mess with people. :)
The plaza area behind it was steadily being transformed into national chains with The Clock being the last old-school holdout.
Unfortunately, The Clock caught fire June 16, 2005 and was demolished in early 2006 to be replaced by a Q'doba.
Nowadays, The Grand Coney on Michigan Ave. seems to fill the late night after bar greasy-spoon niche.
So this entry's pretty short, I don't have a wealth of info or memories to share about The Clock but please post some of your own. That's what this thing is for!
I so loved this place! Best greasy food ever!
ReplyDeleteI went to the Clock so much, one time they had the coffee waiting on my favorite table for me when they saw my car coming down the street.
ReplyDeleteYes and Cindy that worked at the Clock forever is now at the Coney. They do have great food.
ReplyDeleteSo many memories here! Love that picture. The Clock on a winter day...man. Giving me flashbacks. Between the ages of 16-20 I think I drank about 200 gallons of coffee at this place.
ReplyDeleteI think there's still one in Hamtramck.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/maps?q=&layer=c&z=17&iwloc=A&sll=42.401148,-83.060792&cbp=13,349.2,0,0,0&cbll=42.401100,-83.060780&sa=X&ei=cF4BUvrUCoX54AO73YG4BQ&ved=0CC4QxB0wAA
That's incredible. Not sure I'd drive that far to visit it though. But actually yes I would.
DeleteI cried when it burned on Alpine. :( I almost live there. I went before and after the Theater next door.
ReplyDeleteMy family owned it from 1983-2000. I have so many fond memories cooking for all the late night party hounds.
ReplyDeleteMy mom worked there for a while twice, in the late '80's, and late '90's, I remember playing chubby checker and the fat boys on the jukebox
DeleteHow did you make the omelets so big and puffy? The omelets were delicious!
DeleteHow did you make the omelettes so large? We’re they baked?
DeleteMy family owned it from 1983-2000. I have so many fond memories cooking for all the late night party hounds.
ReplyDeleteThe Clock diner on Jos Campau in Hamtramck is no more. Sometime between Google Street of Aug 2011 and Aug 2013 it became a George's Coney Island. Aug 2015 it looked abandoned, and in the Oct 2016 view it looks like it may be getting work done. I occasionally go to the Polish restuarants several blocks away, so I'll have to swing up & check the status.
ReplyDeleteThank you, THANK YOU, Geoffrey Hudson!! For many years now, people have been posting your photo on Detroit pages and calling the location "Detroit" and/or "East Side Det." Working in and around the city I have been in or past a majority of them and I did not recognize that location. Not saying there wasn't one like that in Det, just hadn't seen it, now I know why. I stumbled on this while searching for something totally unrelated.
I owned the Clock in Hamtramck it was a great place but had to move on the city started to change old folks were pretty much but I had fun in this place meeting a lot of people from all over the world
ReplyDelete