Betty’s – Classic Oceanside

Beach concession stands have been around for 100 years or more, situated near and around Oceanside’s pier. They provided beach goers with many of the same essentials as they do today…food, cold refreshments, beach towels, etc.

One such amenity, however, has disappeared: the dressing room. Today folks come dressed for the beach — flip flops, bathing suit, cover-up or t-shirt and shorts. But oh so many years ago, flip flops and the bikini had yet to be “invented” and folks viewed trips to the beach a more formal affair — they came fully dressed.

In 1885 Founder Andrew Jackson Myers built a bathhouse below the bluff, north of the present day pier. Despite its name, it was not a place one could bathe, but instead change into “bathing attire” suitable for the beach. Dressing rooms remained in demand through the 1950s but as clothing and beach fashions change, they have since disappeared.

Today restrooms sometimes double as a changing room, when needed. But in 1927 Ordinance 318 was passed which prohibited the Beach Comfort Station (aka beach restroom) as being used as a dressing room. There were several small dressing rooms operating on the beach (public and private).

In 1931 Archie Freeman built a small dressing room along The Strand, south of the Oceanside Pier and bandshell.  The building and surrounding area would soon after be purchased by the City of Oceanside.

The dressing room was leased out to various people who operated it during the tourist season and summer months. Marie Jones managed it in 1941 and in 1943 Mary E. Belew was given the lease. In 1944 sister-in-laws Orene and Lora Fay Guest were granted the lease. They operated the dressing rooms for 14 years. In addition to providing changing rooms, the facility also rented out beach equipment such as chairs, towels and flotation devices

In 1943 the building was enlarged to serve Oceanside’s expanding population, which was growing at a rapid rate after the establishment of Camp Joseph H. Pendleton in 1942.

In about 1950 a small restaurant was built just to the south of the dressing rooms. This beach concession was named “Betty’s” (sometimes referred to “Betty’s on the Beach” and Betty’s Place). The space was leased from the city and operated by Elizabeth B. Smith.

Elizabeth Carpenter was born in 1904 in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. She met Charles Mayer Smith in Ohio where they both worked at a restaurant. (Charles had a daughter from a previous marriage named Betty.) Elizabeth and Charles married in 1924 and by 1938 moved to San Diego County, and lived for a time in El Cajon where they operated a restaurant. Their daughter Merry Jacqueline was born in 1939.

By 1949 the Smith family had moved to Oceanside where they purchased “Willard’s House of Good Food” located at 309 South Hill Street (Coast Highway). They renamed their establishment Smith’s Dining Room which operated for one year. Charles and Elizabeth Smith then began operating the beach cafe that would become a local fixture and beach hotspot.   

Betty’s was a popular place for local teens and surfers. The adjacent parking on the Strand became nearly synonymous with the food stand. Betty’s remained on the Strand until the mid to late 1960s. Charles Smith died in 1964, Elizabeth in 1972. Both are buried at Eternal Hills Memorial Park in Oceanside.  

Betty’s on the beach was so memorable to so many that although the restaurant was torn down decades ago, many locals still refer to the parking lot on The Strand as “Betty’s Lot”.