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So it's a coincidence that the Grub and Grab both start with a G?
Ride the Zipper?
A G-top by days of old is was an after hours joint for gambling drinking, and whoring once the show closed , it's to keep the help on the grounds instead of *ing the local towns up.

however the G during the day stood for GRUB , like a grab but premade everything for quick GRUB-ing this also to keep the help from being on the midway and away from the visitors.
Strates had a good one in the '70s & '80s too. Dick Swaine's "Cafeteria". He had a nice stainless-steel "diner" that the axle came out from under and it set flat on the ground, and a 45' "Kitchen" trailer along the back. I forget what the kitchen was pulled by nice a conventional Peterbilt.

Nice clean operation and great biscuits and gravy. I had two over-medium on top of biscuits and gravy most every non-travel day for ten years.

Dick drove a Lincoln, and liked to flash a fat wad. He and his operation turned to sh*t when he got messed up in coke. Not sure what happened to him, but he was a good guy. I think his sister work the register (Carole?) and a guy named Rusty ran the diner....
Ride the Zipper?
PeeWees cookhouse...... indeed I have a lot of good memories of him and it. He had it on United Shows for awhile and at least one other that escapes my mind atm. A true showman imo! Just blow in broke and hungry? He'd stake you to a meal until you could get a draw. Always a whole real meal at his place too. I've had countless hours sitting under his top cutting up jackpots, reading the ABs or just wasting time (if it wasn't too crowded) ..... great coffee too 😉
An end, even with terror, is better than terror without end. F.Neitzsche
Boy, I remember some good cookhouses though, Strates had a really nice one in 90s I believe with train theme, also remember PeeWee's booked in on Deggeller, a big operation. We had a really nice family on our show with one. They cooked some really good meals for the evenings, meat and two with slice of onion and tomato and good sweet tea.

Never did see a specific "gambling top" operation although we always just sat around at the cookhouse and traded jackpots, and played cards.. On the second unit we had Big Bob with his cookhouse.
Gambling Top
It was/is the place JUST for Carnival workers to go and relax after the show closed. Most had cigarettes , sandwiches/chips , you could buy beer/drinks and almost all had a poker table and/or roulette wheel and a slot machine or two. It was EXCLUSIVELY for the carnies, no general public allowed.

No, it was quite distinct from the cookhouses that we don't have anymore either lol.

Link had a nice one, Murphy Bros had a huge one (Pancho ran it when I was there lol , he sold the AB's too and ran the tip board) Stine had one.

Most had their own tent but some were in trailers.

It kept us out of town and away from the marks. It was OUR place and I'm truly sad that they seem to have fallen out of favor.
An end, even with terror, is better than terror without end. F.Neitzsche
I don't even know what it means, unless you're talking about show cookhouse, I've heard that referred to as a g-top.

If that, perhaps grub?
Ride the Zipper?
Ok. I started in the business in 1980 , so have been with it for .... 42 years now. In all that time I've only seen 4 , maybe 5 G-Tops. I "always knew" what they were as the very first show I was ever on had one. Now, I mean a real G-Top and not a commissary. I play a game online and mentioned something off handedly to a friend I was chatting with about them. Imagine my surprise when she asked me "what does the "G" stand for" and I could NOT answer. I'm even embarrassed asking and writing this tbh lol.

So, the topic of this discussion is really more of a question : Can someone tell me what the "G" stands for in G-Top?

Thanks in advance.
An end, even with terror, is better than terror without end. F.Neitzsche