Helen’s Grill, Rare 1967 Tableside Jukeboxes

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In the midst of finishing lunch at Helen’s Grill I notice all the jukeboxes were being repaired so I had a short chat with the repairman. There are so few jukeboxes around these days he only does it as a hobby. Despite their namesake even John’s Jukes on Main don’t do much jukebox work these days, it’s mostly pinball machines and video games that provide their business.

The singles are actual 45’s and sell for about $4 each. Very few new releases are made on 45’s. Most are reprints from the old masters and most tracks are from the 60’s to 80’s at the latest.

The tableside boxes date back to 1967 and the large jukebox in the back dates to the 1970’s. The repairman is putting in new labels and installing a large speaker in the front that connects to the rear jukebox. There are very few jukeboxes left in Vancouver, even rarer are the tableside ones like those at Helen’s Grill.

So rejoice, the old boxes are freshly refurbished so you can listen to Dean Martin sing some country tunes or maybe Juice Newton.