 June 1957 – September 1961
LOCATION
Frontierland – Don DeFore’s barbecue restaurant faced Frontierland’s main pathway, across from the Rivers of America. To find the restaurant, visitors would walk through Frontierland’s main entrance off the Main Street hub. The restaurant stood to the left, next to Aunt Jemima’s.
EXPERIENCE
Details:
- Service Type – Quick Service
- Seating – adjacent patio
- Entertainment – none
50s entertainment fans had a special dining opportunity in Frontierland: dine in Don DeFore’s restaurant! Don DeFore, star of Hollywood and Broadway, put his name on Frontierland’s barbecue spot, and served as the chef (and his brother was the manager!). But fans of the DeFore brothers enjoyed the experience of dining in a star’s restaurant, overlooking the scenic Rivers of America.
CLOSURE
Don DeFore’s restaurant had a tiny, tiny kitchen. So small, the Disneyland Encyclopedia reports it violated fire code requirements. In 1961, Disney finally closed the shop and gave the space to Aunt Jemima. Today, this space is part of the River Belle Terrace.
TRIVIA
The Silver Banjo Barbecue’s name comes from Don DeFore himself, who claimed his silver banjo was his most prized possession.
Don DeFore appeared in the national broadcast of Disneyland’s Opening Day; he appeared on Autopia and the Casey Jr. Circus Train.
I had the pleasure of attending a panel about this at D23! It’s my understanding that this was the only place that had a real person’s name attached to it that wasn’t Walt Disney. Which I think is really interesting!
That’s really interesting!!! Thanks for sharing that tidbit 🙂
Interesting facts about the kitchen. Love reading about Disney history ?