Sign of the Times

People are getting laid off left and right. Hours are being slashed, stores are closing and homes are foreclosing. It's hard to find thriving businesses these day but I found one, the sign maker for MGR Property Management.

These signs are everywhere these days. MGR is based in Upland and I actually do some business with them and they do an fine job, however, I look forward to the day when I don't see as many of their signs out.

Off Topic: If anyone has any pictures of the old Sal's Pizza store front on Foothill and second let me know, I'm putting together a series of things that aren't here anymore. Mmmmmmmm, Calzone.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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What went down at Barbee's Pizza?

When I was a kid, in the eighties, living in Upland, there was one place to get the best pizza in town, Barro's Pizza. I still remember my dad and I driving home with a large pepperoni and me poking open one of the vent holes on the pizza box just to get a smell of that perfect pie.

Located on 16th and Mountain (another location on Baseline and Archibald), Barro's really had no competition for the best pizza in town. At some point, Barro's was sold to John Barbee, who changed the name to...duh, Barbee's. No big deal, pizza was the same and the name was close.

Everything was moving along swimmingly for Upland and Barbee's Pizza. I would frequently see John Barbee around town, in the store, or towing his boat. Things were great, in fact, he expanded. He bought the corner unit and built Loco Gringo. Still everything is cool...or so it seemed.

Then boom, Friday morning, July 10, 2004 the following happens...

Pizza Joint Busted (Ed. note: Nice headline Daily Bulletin)

UPLAND - The herb sold to certain customers by a local pizza restaurant over the past several months wasn't oregano, according to the Upland Police Department.

Officers from the Upland/Ontario Narcotics Task Force arrested John Barbee, 39, and Shaun Stacy, 19, both of Upland, and Andre Dennis, 25, of Hawthorne early Friday morning for selling marijuana out of a restaurant owned by Barbee.

Barbee owns Barbee's Pizza, 1667 N. Mountain Ave., and Loco Gringo, a nearby Mexican restaurant, Upland police said.

The narcotics task force began their investigation into possible marijuana sales out of the pizza business in March. Undercover narcotics officers made several marijuana purchases over the...

The website I found this at wants $200 to show me the rest of the article. No deal.

Anyway, I heard through the grapevine that the arrest went down "Cops style" and Barbee went running out the backdoor of his restaurant to evade police...allegedly.

I can't find out anything else about this story so if any of you have any other details let me know.

There is now another Pizza place there but I haven't tried it yet.

For more stories concerning Upland, see the Topic links over on the right---->
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Upland Hall Of Fame: The Pipeline

Long before towns were building free skate parks to keep skaters off of park benches, we had to have Mom or Dad drive us to "Pipeline". Not only that, but we had to pay to get in and have our own membership card. At soccer practice, kids would lie and tell other that they actually skated the "Combi" or "The Monster Bowl".

I never really skated the Combi or the Monster Bowl but I did ride the deepest part of the trench that led to the Monster Bowl. The combi was a combination Bowl on one side and Pool on the other. It's the picture above on the right. The pool the square part in the back while the bowl is just below and to the right of the camera man.

I don't remember the full layout but there was probably 4-5 small bowls, the Trench, Monster Bowl, Combi and of course, the most picturesque part, the Full Pipe leading into a Bowl (Pictured above left).

Southern California was the epicenter of skateboarding culture in the 80's and the best place in SoCal to skate was The Pipeline.

Located in Upland on the north side of Arrow between Benson and Central stood this Mecca of Skate Parks. It also had a BMX track but it was rarely ever used when I was there. It closed in the late eighties and has since been torn down. I'm sure rising insurance costs did them in.

For being the only real World Famous from Upland, The Pipeline is my second UHOF Inductee

Here's a few of Videos
Father and Son riding the Full Pipe
Last Ride of Combi while tractor is ripping the place apart
Some guys skate the whole park
Upland's new free skatepark. Kids are so much better now than we were in the 80's

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Chicks Sporting Goods bought by Dick's

I'm not going to bother making any obvious Chick/Dick jokes about this because it would just come off "Hackish".

I just found out that Dick's Sporting Goods bought Chick's in 2007. Chicks has been on the forefront of hiring High School girls and selling $40 sweatshirts for years and I hope Dick's is prepared for that.

I can't imagine that they would keep both locations open in east Upland. What will happen if Chick's leaves the center on Foothill and Second. Can H. Salt and Sizzlin' step in and anchor.

I sure as hell don't want to see another Indoor Swap meet like over on Grove.
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WTF...Sizzlin' in Upland?...Where's my The Sizzler?

Look, I love Sizzler. I'm kind of a schmo though so I don't really count. Sizzler in has had a long run in Upland. The little restaurant near Chick's on Foothill has been a good neighbor. They served good food, at good prices and even sponsored Little League teams for many years. Unfortunately that run is over...kind of...

On the good side, as far as I can tell, the only thing that has changed is the two letters at the end. I didn't ask but I'm guessing that the franchise fee's had something to do with it. Hell, if the Bleu Cheese stays the same they can call that place Dumpster's and I'd still hit it.

"The" Sizzler is (apparently) a victim of it's own Salad/Dessert/appetizer Bar success. They started focusing too much on the Bar and lower the quality of the entree's. Who cares? Who orders a steak at La Sizzler (ummm Steakhouse) anyway? Not me, no one in my circle.

Unfortunately, due to my wife not being a big fan of The Sizz, I don't get over there often. I will make sure to support Sizzlin' this year.

Mmmm...Bleu Cheese on Baked Potato Skins. ...Read more!

Upland Hates Books

Note: This is not a story about Fantasy Baseball or sports so read on without fear.

So the other day I heard that The Sporting News had released their 2009 Fantasy Baseball Preview magazine. OK I admit it, I'm a fantasy baseball geek. Anyway, not the point. I figured I'd stop by the local News Stand or Book Store.

Off I go, over to Foothill and Mountain to the book store...nothing...it's probably been gone for years but I didn't notice it was missing until now.

Back to google to check it out. No leads.

I had to go out of town to find a book store. So we have like 5 porn shops, 10+ Check Cashing stores and not one bookstore.

A few years ago I lived in a town only slightly larger than Upland that had the best Used and New bookstore ever. We need something like this.

If I have missed a bookstore, please correct me. Look out Upland Public Library...Upland is on to your free book loaning ways.
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No more PFF Orange Crate Calender

One of the forgotten casualties of the recent economic crisis is the PFF Orange Crate Calander. Every year they would release a new calendar with classic a Fruit Crate label for each month. Since PFF was taken over by US Bank, they have discontinued the product.

For those that aren't familiar with fruit crate labels, here is the short history.

I've heard from some sources that the same packing plant might use a different label for each season or even a few every season depending on the destination. This may account for the seemingly endless number of labels.

I found some old calendars on ebay and there is also some people making new calendars but it's just not the same.

Feel free to add to this story by clicking the Comment button below and letting us know what you think.
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Hollywood Video Out of Business

Hollywood Video on Foothill and Alta has closed up shop. That means less tax money for Upland and a few less jobs.

If the economy didn't get this place, more convenient services like Netflix and Redbox eventually would have.

It's too bad that you'll probably see many more posts like this in the coming months/years. ...Read more!