SOME BUSINESSES WEATHER THE DECADES WHILE EVOLVING TRENDS AND TASTES HAVE LEFT MOST BEHIND, ONLY A HANDFUL OF STORES HAVE REMAINED SINCE 1946.

Byline: LISA M. SODDERS Staff Writer

Damon's Steak House has served so many generations of Glendale customers, menus are often superfluous.

``When I seat people and I put the menus down, they tell me, `We don't need those,''' owner Patrick Campbell said. ``You become an extension of their family. They've come to your restaurant for all their special occasions.''

Despite the Mai-Tais and Tiki-style decor - including fish tanks, an outrigger suspended from the ceiling and colorful South Seas murals - the menu is solid American fare: steaks, burgers and grilled seafood. Campbell, 34, likes to call the restaurant ``Amnesian'' - American food, served with Polynesian flair.

``I think people like the atmosphere,'' Campbell said. ``When you come here you do escape for a little bit -- it's not a big, noisy sports bar. It's a little get-away here in Glendale.''

Damon's is but one of the continuously operating businesses that were around in 1946 to welcome returning GIs to the new suburban utopia pitched in magazines, movies and song.

They've survived changes in technology, owners, the passing of generations and customer preferences on everything from foods to fences.

``In the late '40s and '50s, chain link was pretty popular, not like it is today (with) wrought iron,'' said Vic Farrar, who has been in the business 35 years. He took over North Hollywood's Carter Fence Co., which opened in 1946, from from his father-in-law.

``Things were more simple and it was used to be functional -- keep the dog in, keep the kids in.''

But as home prices have soared, more people are looking at fencing as a way to enhance property value or make a decorative statement.

It's those same kinds of evolving tastes and trends that have left many businesses behind. But for many others, they've carved a niche, plying a classic trade.

Decades ago, Jim Jennings Jr., 57, says there were four other paint companies within two blocks of the Burbank Paint Co. his father, Jim Sr. founded in 1946.

The company supplies paint for industrial and commercial uses.

``When the big aircraft guys left, all the little shops left with them,'' Jennings said. ``That's one of the reasons I send a lot of paint out-of-state now. The shops didn't just close up - they're still buying paint - but now I'm shipping it to Colorado and Idaho and so on.''

Elliott Printing Co. in North Hollywood has seen most of its competition disappear over the last six decades when Jack Elliot opened shop on Lankershim Boulevard.

Like many second-generation businessmen, Jack's son, Tim, got his start early.

``I grew up coming in here in the summer and on vacation, just to make some extra money,'' recalled Elliott, 60. ``I started sweeping floors and wrapping packages.''

He stayed in the business because he discovered he liked working with his hands, and enjoyed the relationships he developed with his customers.

``I like the tradition of it: you look back at Benjamin Franklin: when he signed his name with all of his titles, he put B. Franklin, printer,'' said Elliott, who took over the business from his father in 1981.

Although he could upgrade his business, Elliott says he's not sure the company will see a 65th anniversary mainly because there is no third-generation Elliott to take over. His two sons and his daughter have found more lucrative jobs.

But for himself, the business is something more personal, which keeps him coming in to work each day.

``I've always liked taking someone's pencil scratches on a napkin and turning it into a nice, finished, printed piece. It's part craftsman, part artwork. You're taking someone's ideas and turning it into a finished product that they're happy with.''

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Patrick Campbell is the second family owner of Damon's Steak House, a Glendale landmark established in 1937. ``When you come here you do escape for a little bit - it's not a big, noisy sports bar. It's a little getaway here in Glendale.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(2) Three generations have run the Carter Fence Co. in North Hollywood since 1946. From left, Bill Walker, his daughter Lori Farrar, her husband Vic Farrar, and their son Jon Farrar.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer