Zada "Scrubby" Lewis working at Scrubby and Lloyd's in 1977. ©The Tribune
The original Scrubby and Lloyd’s posting was so well received that when I came across the obituary for Zada Lewis I had to complete the story. Wish I could turn up the 1977 article, the file print is torn.
Published December 31, 1986
Zada ‘Scrubby’ Lewis, SLO restaurateur, is dead at 74
Zada Lewis, an original partner in San Luis Obispo’s well-known Scrubby and Lloyd’s hamburger restaurant, died Monday, Dec.29, at the age of 74.
“My nickname is Scrubby,” Mrs. Lewis explained to a reporter in 1977, as she cooked hamburgers at the restaurant on Carmel Street. “I wasn’t the youngest of the 14 kids in my family but I guess I was the smallest.”
She had opened Scrubby and Lloyds with the late Lloyd Pettenger in 1957. Before that she worked for Pettenger at Hamburger Haven for seven years.
“I was the waitress and Lloyd was the cook,” Mrs. Lewis recalled.
Pettenger retired in 1972 and moved to Georgia. He had returned to San Luis Obispo when he died in 1983.
Mrs. Lewis sold the restaurant to her son, Lee, in 1976, and continued to help on weekdays.
She was born in San Luis Obispo Oct. 19, 1915, attended local schools and moved to Monterey in 1984.
At her request no services will be conducted. Cremation with burial of ashes at sea has taken place.
She is survived by a daughter, Dixie Dolan of Texas; four brothers, Bill Davis of Washington, Clint Davis of Santa Barbara, Art Davis of Buellton and Ted Davis of San Luis Obispo, six sisters, Frances Mitts of Seaside, Dorothy Bauscher of Santa Barbara, Ann Spwncer of Los Gatos, Pearl Cos, Cladys Cook and Sally Pierce all of Monterey; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
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thanks
I kick myself for never having had a burger there. There is simply no excuse!
Best chili in the world. Add a great home-made burger and fries, and folks, you were in greasy Heaven indeed
The cooks and waitresses always, always, always had time to shoot the breeze with you, regardless of how busy the tiny place got.
Chalk up our loss of S&L’s to more SLO “progress”.
in ref to the “fries” comment on July 7, 2010: eh, nope. Never happened. Scrubby and Lloyd’s didn’t do fries.
Dear Laurie Gale,
I like your clarification of the fact that my dad, Lloyd Pettenger would never ever serve french fries! His doctor had told them they were unhealthy and bad for him, and he refused to serve them to his beloved customers.
My brother, Lee Pettenger, followed in our dad’s footprints and he too, for the love of his customers would never serve french fries!
We could always tell when a “new comer’ was there at Scrubby and Lloyd’s, as we would hear the shocked comment “What no french fries???!!!
But the ” new comers ” were quickly impressed with healthier choices of home made chili beans, or fresh potato salad or fresh macaroni salad and would wash it down with the most delicious milk shake you could imagine! Soon the newcomers were regulars too!
Thank you !
Elaine