Los Angeles, California, is known as a hub of Hollywood glamour and dazzling restaurants, ranging from new classics to old-school dining spots. As one of the nation’s largest counties, Los Angeles spans more than 4,000 square miles with prominent productions filmed all over the area. The Santa Clarita Valley is a popular place for filming, given its Old West vibe, plentiful open spaces, and comfortable accommodations. In fact, the Halfway House Cafe is an iconic spot as the setting of a famous 1992 Pepsi commercial.
The commercial starred Cindy Crawford and featured the supermodel pulling up to a roadside cafe and hopping out of her sports car to enjoy a can of Pepsi from a vending machine as two youngsters look on in amazement at the great-looking new can of soda. Cheeky and fun, this popular part of 1990s nostalgia harkens back to a more carefree time when TV commercials were all that was talked about around the proverbial water cooler the next day.
Utilizing the historic Halfway House cafe as the setting for this auspicious commercial is just one of the examples of notable productions that have taken place at the restaurant, which has been around since its early days as a trading post in 1906, becoming a cafe in 1931. Alongside historic California restaurant The Original Saugus Cafe, Halfway House is another feather in the cap for the Santa Clarita Valley as a sought-after location for both film and food.
Read more: 15 Old-School Diner Foods That You Don’t See On Menus Anymore
More about the Halfway House Cafe
Halfway House Cafe – Angel DiBilio/Shutterstock
Though Pepsi has not always been the most thoughtful in its ad campaigns, the unforgettable 1990s commercial holds a special place in TV history. Crawford even reprised her role for a 2021 charity photo shoot set at the original California cafe. In addition to the famed commercial, Halfway House has a number of other credits. The historic diner has been featured in movies such as the 1968 Clint Eastwood film “Heartbreak Ridge” and 2000’s “Space Cowboys.” As for TV shows, you might just spot the cafe if you’re watching “The A-Team,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” and “Knight Rider,” among others.
Of course, its day-to-day operations as a diner still take precedence. In fact, former owner Bob Lima mentioned that he often had to decline filming requests because the cafe receives so many. The diner boasts homestyle Americana fare, and current owner Jacob Rondoni lists Halfway House’s tuna melt and club sandwich among his recommended dishes.
The no-frills menu includes other favorites such as a Western bacon cheeseburger, a juicy steak sandwich, and a wide variety of egg dishes for its breakfast and lunch selections. The Halfway House Cafe is open daily from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. and is conveniently located on Sierra Highway in Santa Clarita, meaning you, too, can live out your supermodel dreams of pulling up to the restaurant and treating yourself to a refreshing beverage and a meal.
Want more food knowledge? Sign up to our free newsletter where we’re helping thousands of foodies, like you, become culinary masters, one email at a time. You can also add us as a preferred search source on Google.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.