Fontana, CA

This is another town (along with San Bernardino and Oakland) that claims to be where the Hells Angels were founded.

Fontana is home of Bono's Deli, which has been in operation by the Bono family since 1936. Their famous Giant Orange Stand still proudly stands out front.

I've met Joe Bono a few times. Joe is Sonny's cousin, and he showed me a picture of Sonny and his other wife with President Reagan.

Anyway, the Bono's came to Fontana in the 1930s and owned a vineyard. Joe showed me a large wooden cask that the Bono's used to mash grapes in their vineyard days. Turns out that there once were over 50 bonded vineyards in the Fontana area. Now there are none. Joe told l me he can remember when Fontana was rural and Route 66 in front of the Deli was one lane in each direction. Today, is is a busy four lane road with bunches of stop lights.

Bono's was closed for several years while Joe was trying to remodel. He wound up retiring and selling the place, which now was reopened as a good Italian restaurant. Unfortunately, it didn't survive the Pandemic and is now closed. Too bad. It was doing great.

Just down the street from Bono's, you will find Downtown Cycle, which does a brisk custom and repair business.

In the 1950s and 60s, Fontana had Mickey Thompson's Fontana International Dragway, also called Fontana Drag City or the Fontana Drag Strip. It was a drag racing strip on the NHRA circuit. The original drag strip is gone, but in 2006, the owners of NASCAR's Auto Club Speedway opened a new NHRA drag strip.