Café Russe lasted the longest: from 1987 till 2008 (?) when Ridge and Brooke danced there when they learned that the restaurant was closing due to the bad economy. It was the first set whose fate was ever explained. lol

Did they really say that? I have no memory of this! Clearly this was a budget move, but such a stupid one.

Did they really say that? I have no memory of this! Clearly this was a budget move, but such a stupid one.

Yes, it happened, although it was actually March 25-26 in 2010 when Cafe Russe made its exit. Ridge and Brooke had dinner with Taylor and Whip at Cafe Russe as it prepared to close down. Taylor and Whip left and went back to Whip's place, where Whip proposed, and Taylor, claiming she was finally over Ridge, accepted. (Of course, we saw a year later how untrue that was during the Berry incident). Meanwhile, Ridge and Brooke stayed behind and closed down the place.

I guess the Cafe Russe set was just too elaborate to break out for infrequent use under B&B's two episode/day taping schedules, with them trying to use the same sets back to back days to save money.

I think it was not used past 1992/1993 - as soon as they had "Pierre's" and later that Mexican locarna. By 1994 there was "Mannequins" which lasted till around 2000. Then they briefly tried another Latino place during the Tony/Kristen story, LAs Olas (2001-2003).

The original Bikini Bar was around from 1992-1996 when Sly torched it up. They brought it back as the Bikini Beach Bar in 2004 (?).

Ther also was The Lair (2000-2001) where Deacon was manager at and briefly Ozzy in 2003.

Insomnia was also a hangout for the younger set for a while, when Macy and Grant bought the place, late 1997-early 1998. Katie worked there as a waitress, and Amber, Rick and CJ used to hang out there around the time Jacob Young first came on as Rick. That set came and went over the years until it became Dayzee's, although who knows how often we'll see it now that Kristolyn Lloyd is only recurring and is headed east for work.

They also had a country western bar in late 1996-early 1997, the Canyon Country Club, but that disappeared after it served its purpose in the Taylor/Ridge/Brooke/Grant quadrangle.

That's a classy thing they did. Most soaps don't care about sets, other than burning them down.

That's a classy thing they did. Most soaps don't care about sets, other than burning them down.

B&B has always kept their sets stored away well, in case they have to be reused. They have a few that stay up all the time - the Forrester mansion and the FC executive floor used to be kept "up" all the time back in the day, although I'm not sure if that's true today when the mansion is seen less frequently. The others come and go as needed for the story, although they try to use a specific set for multiple episodes these days to keep from having to break down and put up sets too often.

I guess they could have just kept the Cafe Russe set "in the box" and just not used it anymore, so it was kind of nice that they actually worked its exit into the story.

What is the outdoor restaurant called? The one that doubles as the Forrester gym. I don't think anyone in L.A. eats out at night anymore.

What is the outdoor restaurant called? The one that doubles as the Forrester gym. I don't think anyone in L.A. eats out at night anymore.

Il Giardino

The shelf with the plates - which they always put up - is actually recycled from that Mexican restaurant set I was talking earlier about BTW.

B&B has always done a great job at recycling sets. The first production designer Sy Tomashoff really learned his craft at Dark Shadows to make great looking sets, yet operate on a tight budget and hence reuse as much as possible.

Question: Did Nina Arveson appear on B&B as Cassandra Rawlings? I saw her on imdbs B&B page[and Iknow they are not very accurate], but I wondered if anyone heard of this. I never did.

Not that I know of.

I didn't think so, her storyline was so isolated to Paul and Victor, I didn't think she would have had time for a crossover.

I spent most of the weekend rereading the tenth anniversary coffee table B&B book. I was wondering if anyone knew who played some small parts in the early years. If anyone can help, I'd appreciate it.

Dr. Bailey[1988] Beth's doctor in the Mastectomy story.

Dr. Cameron[1988] Caroline's therapist

Dr. Schnell[1989] Plastic surgeon Thorne took Deveney Dickson to.

Ramone[1988, or 89] Associate Nick Preston at Spencer Publications.

Juanita[1993] Pregnant employee at Spectra that helped Sally convince Jack she was pregnant.

Geri[1995or96] Prisoner that attacked Sheila with Ulma[spice Williams} in prison or the looney bin.

Roberta[1997] Head of the Design Academy.

Again, thanks if anyone has any info.

Watching Clarke in that promo something makes me wonder if Bill Bell wanted Clarke to be B&B's own Jack Abbott/Terry Lester style. I know this sounds as blasphemy but there's something so rascal about early Clarke and the actor's performance.