Vern’s Copper Chimney

Vern’s was the quintessential roadside coffee shop. They had eggs over easy eggs over hard ham bacon and pancakes hamburgers cheeseburgers salads all the classics one would expect from a family restaurant or a roadside coffee shop. Was clean enough but not fancy. The parking lot often got muddy or flooded in the rain. The staff was always kind. This is exactly what St. Helena needs again. I’m sure myself and over half of Saint Helena wants another restaurant like Vern’s instead of all these other restaurants that cater to tourist and business meals. I go to all the fancy places too, I love them, but I can’t take my kids there and I can’t afford to eat there every time I wanna go out! Somebody bring back Vern’s!!! Even a Black bear diner would be great at this spot! My memory has faded a bit but I recall plenty of fake lava rock, some copper fixtures the faint smell of bleach and other dinerish things. The clients were a full cross-​section of residents.

If you went into Vern’s on a night that Vern wasn’t there, but Chickie the waitress was, you’d get the best milkshake EVER made. Instead of using «Soft Serve», Chickie would use real strawberry ice cream and add fresh strawberries. And yes, she’d serve it with a «There you are, hon». Chickie always made me feel special. She was absolutely the best!

So you want a taste of the REAL Napa Valley? Forget Go Fish! Hop in your time machine and zoom back in time to the 70s! Rewind past Go Fish, keep zipping through the days of Pinot Blanc and past the short-​lived reign of Southside Café, arriving at the REAL DEAL… Vern’s Copper Chimney.
Many a chicken-​fried steak were enjoyed by yours truly at this fine establishment. Forget about starched white linens, Riedel stemware, and waitstaff with fancy-​pants european names, this is the 70s baby! We’re talkin’ waitresses who called you «Hon», with names just like your grandma’s: Lil, Ethel, Marge. Almost everything on the menu was served with some sort of gravy and if you wanted wine, well, they just might be able to pour you some Gallo from a dusty jug in the back. Only you though, not me because remember, this is the 70’s and I’m only 2!