Nuts, the Trees are gone

There was a time once, not so long ago, when driving down I-80 meant passing long stretches of farmland. A time when Sacramento, Roseville and Rocklin were distinct towns with discrete geography. When Vacaville seemed like just a name, but the Nut Tree was a destination. Or at least a point of reference in a journey.

I was randomly surfing through old postcard images on this amazingly vast site, looking for an image of Union Square before its renovation, when I stumbled upon the photo above. It’s a lavish display, with Eames fiberglass chairs, bold fabrics, and patrons dressed not like they just came off the road, but like they’re out on the town…at the Nut Tree?

As inconceivable as it is to my memory of the place, the Nut Tree in its prime was the epitome of mid-century chic. With an eye towards modern design and the cosmopolitan, the restaurant incorporated scandinavian influences, cutting-edge building design and construction, and exotic food presentation. For a time it was even the sole West Coast retailer for Eames furniture. Dig the chair display, below.

Those times when my family had to get out of the car and rest we never even ventured here. We went across the street to the Coffee Tree. The only thing I remember of either place was an unsettling sense of anachronism. The restaurants are gone, but with the communities along I-80 growing like a stucco-colored mold, I pine for those Nut Tree days. Back to a time when this corridor had a rustic charm and a building in the middle of nothing could lure you off the road and share with you its sense of place.