Saturday, August 8, 2015

Bit of Sweden Restaurant in San Diego

It's amazing what you can find on the Internet!  An image Bit of Sweden in 1966 from a postcard (wasn't much different when I went there during the 1970's).
Every now and again I think about going to Bit of Sweden with my dad and Grandmother (Margaret Fister Hartley) as a child.  Grandmother's parents Ben and Mary were from Norway, and Grandmother's mysterious maternal grandfather, Gustav Andersson Bergehoin, was from Sweden.


As a kid I never thought to ask Grandmother if this was like the food her mom cooked, although I always assumed it was.

Bit of Sweden featured in a 1953 Food Basket ad (talk about blast from the past).  "Another Food Basket "Super Service" Mary Morgan reveals first of Famous-Restaurant Recipes; This Week: "Bit of Sweden," advertisement, San Diego Union, 22 Jan 1953; Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 Aug 2015).

They sold shoes beginning about 1965!  "Shoe Sales in a Restaurant?," advertisement, San Diego Union, 6 Feb 1970, p. 23; Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 Aug 2015).

I likely ate his cooking when I went to Bit of Sweden.  "Harry Prather Succumbs at 87," obituary, 18 Feb 1980, page 24; Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 Aug 2015).

I wonder if this Chicago Bit of Sweden was from the same people?  So now I wonder, did Grandmother eat there in Chicago?  She did work in Chicago in the 1930's as a secretary, where she met and married my grandfather George Hartley, Jr (1907-1977):
"Favorite Swedish Dishes Provide Changes," San Luis Obispo Daily Telegram, 15 Apr 1936, page 9; Genealogybank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 8 Aug 2015).


Image of the Bit of Sweden's entrance from Dan Soderberg's 2007 blog post Little Sweden, where he commented: "I remember when Bit Of Sweden at 2850 El Cajon Blvd. was open for business. I probably ate there. It is now a banquet facility for rent. And sometimes it is also referred to as Vasa Hall or Club."
A shadow of its former self.  On the corner of El Cajon and Utah.  From Google Maps Street View, March 2015.


You can get a similar food experience now at Ikea.  I love this kind of food, and I suspect you can go to Illinois and Minnesota and find places like this now.  Scandinavian smorgasbords are hard to find here in San Diego.

Now I'm really hungry.



© 2015 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

9 comments:

  1. Rays real name was Ragmar, I remember him very fondly when I trained a couple doors down at College Karate at 60th & El Cajon Blvd in '67, very nice people and very underrated food selection.

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    1. I trained at College Karate too and would go in afterwards for a slice of cheesecake with a cherry on top and some sauce. Good memories.

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  2. There was no financial connection to House of Sweden at El Cajon & Utah Street, just the food, always wondered if Rays Tennis in North Park belonged to Ragmar as he wa very into tennis, I miss him.

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  3. Mom and I loved this place when I was growing up. Many wonderful meals and memories in that building. :)

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  4. Remember most Holliday's and when we would have company. It was either Bit of Sweden, Nordic Inn or Chuck Wagon..

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  5. Remember most Holliday's and when we would have company. It was either Bit of Sweden, Nordic Inn or Chuck Wagon..

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  6. I grew up in Highland, California. I had a great aunt who lived in San Diego. When I was a kid, we would drive down and visit her once or twice a year. And these trips often included a visit to the Bit of Sweden restaurant. BTW, that was in the 70s and very early 80s. I'm currently visiting San Diego and wondered if this was still open. Sadly, apparently it isn't. But I still have my fond memories of the place! RIP!

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  7. My parents, Bengt and Kerstin, owned Bit of Sweden for over 35 years until it was closed due to my father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. So fun to see some of this and learn more of its history.

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  8. We loved getting a hearty lunch at Bit of Sweden as construction workers in the late seventies. Great food and great memories.

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