Nat Bailey

Nat Bailey
Born	January 31, 1902(1902-01-31) St. Paul, Minnesota
Died	March 27, 1978(1978-03-27) (aged 76)
Occupation	restaurateur
Known for	Founder of White Spot

Nathaniel Ryal Bailey (January 31, 1902 – March 27, 1978), better known as Nat Bailey was a restaurateur best known for building the first drive-in restaurant in Canada, in 1928, and developing the first car-hop tray. His chain of White Spot restaurants continues to thrive today.

Biography

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Bailey moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1913. He started his business career selling peanuts during games at the Vancouver Forum. He expanded his business by adding hot drinks and hamburgers. When the Forum's roof collapsed in 1934, he built the famous log cabin, White Spot, at 70th and Granville streets in Vancouver's Marpole district. The logs were painted white and the ends painted green. This was the first drive-in in Canada. The car-hops wore green uniforms with Naugahyde captain's caps, and a white stripe down the pant leg. Nat's specially designed tray fit between the car's window sills. He became famous for his hamburgers, which used Nat's "secret sauce", which was rumoured to be Thousand Island dressing mixed with mayonnaise, but he never revealed the recipe. The hamburger drew customers from all over Vancouver and his French Fries were never less than 3 inches in length. Later, Nat became famous for his "Chicken Pickens". This was long before the Colonel and KFC were on the scene. The White Spot became so popular for its tasty food that Nat built several of the drive-ins throughout Vancouver and Victoria. He sold the chain to General Foods when he retired as a very famous restaurateur and community sports supporter.

Bailey was a Freemason, and supporter of the Marpole Rotary Club, as well as the Chamber of Commerce.

Sports involvement

Bailey was also a supporter of little league baseball in the city of Vancouver and was a part owner of the Vancouver Mounties professional team. His love of the game was commemorated with the renaming of Capilano Stadium to Nat Bailey Stadium after his death in 1978. The reasons for his death are unknown. Nat Bailey Stadium is currently the home of the Vancouver Canadians, a short season Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

External links

• Bio - Grand Lodge of BC & Yukon records

Persondata
Name	Bailey, Nat
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 31, 1902
Place of birth	St. Paul, Minnesota
Date of death	March 27, 1978
Place of death