‘A Place to Come and Relax’
He wasn’t sure about the colorful garden decor or the floral-scented air, but when my 4-year-old son laid eyes on the Fluffernutter, he was sold on Granlund’s Restaurant and Gift Shop in Yucaipa.
What, you might ask, is the Fluffernutter? It’s a delicious, do-it-yourself concoction made of soft white bread, sliced bananas, grape jelly, peanut butter and marshmallow cream, served unassembled so independent 4-year-olds can build it in any fashion they might like.
My 6-year-old daughter and I have slightly more sophisticated palates (although we both stole a few greedy bites of the Fluffernutter), so we ordered different dishes. I chose the Brioche topped with tomato, basil and cheese, which came with soup or salad — I chose the vegetable soup — and she requested the turkey dinner, which included sliced turkey with corn nibblets, mashed potatoes and country gravy.
Granlund’s was known for its candies — especially chocolate, said Nancy LeVesque, a gift buyer and decorator at Granlund’s Restaurant and Gift Shop for about 12 years. When Scott Burkle — whose family owns Perish Pioneer Apple Ranch in Oak Glen — bought the store from the Granlund’s in 1993, he added the restaurant.
It began as primarily an ice-cream and cold-sandwich shop, and then other entrees were added later, LeVesque said. The restaurant grew as the years passed, and there were cosmetic changes. But some things stayed the same, she added. The pretty copper ceiling and the old-fashioned ice-cream bar are from the early days.
“It is a perfect combination of food and an atmosphere you won’t find anywhere else,” LeVesque said. “It’s not a fast-paced restaurant. This is a place to come and relax.”
Marcy Ranney, head waitress at Granlund’s Restaurant and Gift Shop in Yucaipa, displays a strawberry sundae. Granlund’s features ice cream supplied by Bert & Rocky’s Ice Cream in Claremont.That’s exactly what the kids and I did. We sat listening to a mix of soft jazz and big-band music and browsed through the whimsical garden and home decor scattered among the tables. We also gazed longingly through the glass at handmade chocolate eclairs, pecan-pie makings in ribbon-bedecked jars and a variety of other specialty sweets items. (Our table sat next to the candy counter).
