Not actually a Bellflower story but connected to Bellflower: We were driving west down Florence when we passed this sign. My curiosity getting the better of me (which it does quite frequently), I turned around to take a picture. Noting the red arrow pointing to the alley, I turned and drove to the back of the lot. I saw nothing Chris & Pitts, just a bunch of warehouse-type buildings, plenty of iron fencing, barbed wire, and locks. As I made a slow circle to leave, in the rear view mirror I saw two guys come out of the furthest building. One rode off on a bicycle while the other started walking back to the door. I quickly put the van in reverse and gave him a yell.....he walked over and I asked Could you tell me about the Chris & Pitts Commissary sign out on Florence? He gave a big grin and said I sure could! His name was Mike and he said he had known old Chris since he was nine years old. The Commissary in question was the long building that started directly behind the sign out on Florence. Back in the day, when Chris & Pitts had 11 restaurants, this building was were they would deliver the meat to be cut up to the described dishes served on the menus. Huge rib sides and whole cows would be hung up on hooks and a crew of 30 would process the meat. This facility was also were they made the salad dressing, and of course, the famous barbecue sauce. Mike said the site had closed about 20 years ago and Tyson foods had started supplying the beef and pork to the remaining three restaurants. The specific cuts for Chris & Pitts are sealed in bags with the barbecue sauce and steam cooked, then sent on to the actual restaurant kitchens for the final barbecue - which smells so delicious! The recipes for the salad dressing and barbecue sauce were sold to Ralphs, which carries them on their shelves. Chris & Pitts retained the use of the recipes for the restaurants only. Mike said that old Chris is about 91 now, and not in the best of shape. The family, a daughter and grandson, are not terribly interested in keeping the chain going. But Mike said old Chris always considered the Bellflower site to be the best, and when asked which of his restaurants he would recommend, would always direct people to that location. So.....enjoy a visit to the new place going up next door....but never forget the best Chris & Pitts location is in our own City of Bellflower!
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 00:59:06 +0000
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