Juanita Musson
| Juanita Musson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Juanita Lois Hudspeth October 16, 1923 Texas, U.S. |
| Died | February 26, 2011 (aged 87) Sonoma, California, U.S. |
| Resting place |
Golden Gate 37°49′N 122°29′W / 37.817°N 122.483°W |
| Occupation | Restaurateur |
| Years active | 1950s–1985 |
| Organization | Juanita's Galley and other restaurants |
| Known for | Flamboyant style, large portions of food served |
| Spouse(s) | Richard Musson (m. 1944; div. 1957) |
Juanita Lois Musson (née Hudspeth; October 16, 1923 – February 26, 2011) was an American restaurateur who, from the 1950s to the 1980s, established and operated eleven restaurants (many of them named Juanita's Galley) in Sausalito, California, and around the San Francisco Bay Area, of which she was a longtime resident.
Called "flamboyant", Musson had a reputation for being kind to animals and the poor, and sometimes rude to her patrons. Drinking frequently, she often argued with and insulted her staff and customers, and was involved in a number of physical altercations. Despite all this she was well-liked. While Musson was careless with money and the management of her restaurants, they gained prominence and popularity for their atmosphere and generous portions.
Juanita Lois Hudspeth was born on October 16, 1923, in a rural part of Texas. During her youth, she lived in the southwest United States. In 1944, she married soldier Richard Musson in Wichita Falls, Texas. The Mussons moved to Sausalito, California, in 1946. They divorced in 1957 but remained friends afterward. Richard died in 1987.
Musson was considered to be a "flamboyant and eccentric" woman. She was overweight (over 300 lb (140 kg) at her peak), and always wore a flower-patterned muumuu. Her trademarks were her muumuu and verbal assaults. Journalist Alice Yarish remarked "She was rough and tumble and cussed a lot, but it was always funny. She was mean to everybody, and you liked it."
Musson owned, as pets, a white turkey, monkeys, parrots, deer, chickens, goats, dogs, cats and other creatures that were allowed to wander around her restaurants.
Juanita's Galley...Noted for fabulous breakfast, potluck and the unpredictable disposition of its proprietor, Juanita Musson, who is genial or belligerent with no seeming valuation to tide or events.
In the 1950s, Musson established Juanita's Galley restaurant, which she subsequently moved to a series of locations in Sausalito and adjacent Sonoma County. In 1955 she managed The Ferry Slip Galley, in a building at Gate 5 of the Sausalito pier, for owners Shirley Morgan and Cliff Pedersen. By the beginning of 1956, she was its sole owner, and its name had been shortened to simply The Galley. At that time, the restaurant was included in plans for a marina development by the Marinship Corporation. In September of that year, Musson and her husband Richard filed a "Certificate of Copartners Doing Business Under a Fictitious Name" for a legal change of the business name to Juanita's Galley.
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