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| 1947 Phone Book Listing |
That was the first I had heard of Arvay Potato Chips. Intrigued, I tried to find out a little about the company and product online, as well as in the Lorain Public Library.
Alyssa Morales, a Lorain International Festival Hungarian princess in 2011, mentioned her family's connection with the company in an online interview on the Chronicle Telegram website. "My great-great grandmother on my grandmother's side was also born in Hungary and her brother Frank owned and operated Arvay's Potato Chip Company on Vine Street in South Lorain," she stated.
At the library, the earliest listing I could find for the company was in the 1935 city directory. Arvay Potato Chips was listed at 1533 E. 30th Street, with Frank J. Arvay Jr. as the name associated with the company. Apparently the company was located in a home, as its address matched that of Frank and Veronica Arvay. The senior Arvay was listed as a grocer.
The potato chip company remained at that address into the 1940's. At some point in that decade, its address changed to 1553 E. 29th Street.
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| 1962 Phone Book Listing |
Sometime around 1969, Frank Arvay retired and the company disappeared from the pages of the city directory as well as the phone book.
At the tine of Arvay's death at age 67 in September 1971, Russ Davies, a columnist in the Chronicle-Telegram made a nice mention of him in his column.
"At one time there were three "Mr. Chips" in Lorain County. The dean of the trio was Frank J. Arvay of Lorain who owned and operated the Arvay Potato Chip Company. The others were Bill Thomasson of Elyria, owner of Thomasson's Potato Chips who since has turned the business to this son, Bill, and Pete DeSantis of Lorain, long associated in the chip and pretzel business.
"Best known of the three in the earlier days was Mr. Arvay, 67, who died in Lorain St. Joseph Hospital on Sept. 10 and had only been ill one day. He was the victim of a heart attack.
"The rotund, jovial and downright funny Mr. Arvay had the reputation among tavern owners, bartenders and barmaids in Lorain County for being the most "drinks for the bar" gent in the area."
That's a pretty nice way to be remembered, if you ask me. And I'm sure many people in Lorain remember Frank Arvay's potato chips as well.
ARVAY POTATO CHIP FACTORY. SEEING THIS HAS BROUGHT BACK A TON OF MEMORIES FROM THAT TIME. YOU SEE I WAS ONE OF MANY CHILDREN THAT LIVED ON EAST 29TH STREET IN LORAIN, OHIO. IN FACT I LIVED DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE BUILDING . EVERY DAY WE WOULD SEE THE TRUCKS GOING OUT TO DELIVER THE CHIPS TO THE MANY STORES IN THE AREA. INSTEAD OF GOING TO THE STORE TO BUY OUR CHIPS , WE WOULD GO DIRECTLY TO THE COMPANY AND BUY THEM FROM THE BUSINESS WINDOW. WE WOULD GET EITHER THE ARVAY'S OR THE SNYDER'S . MY FAVORITE WAS ALWAYS THE SNYDER'S , THEY WERE AWESOMELY GOOD. THAT'S NOT TO SAY ARVAY'S WAS NOT GOOD. IN FACT, I SOMETIME WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME DECIDING BETWEEN THE TWO. THE BEST THING OF LIVING AROUND THE POTATO CHIP COMPANY WAS AT TIMES MR. ARVAY WOULD COME OUT AND GIVE US FREE BAGS OF CHIPS. THAT POTATO CHIP COMPANY BECAME A LANDMARK IN THE MIND OF THE CHILDREN OF EAST 29TH STREET A PLACE NON OF US HAVE FORGOTTEN , AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THERE WAS A LOT OF US. EVEY SO OFTEN I CAN STILL FIND A BAG OF SNYDER'S CHIPS , I HAVE GIVEN SOME TO MY SON WHEN HE WAS A CHILD , TODAY HE IS 33 AND HAVE ALSO GIVEN THEM TO MY GRANDCHILDREN . TODAY I AM 65 YEARS OLD AND REMEMBER THE PLACE AS IF IT WERE YESTERDAY. ALL OF US THAT LIVED ON 29TH STREET , STILL TODAY , ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS MENTION THE WORDS " THE POTATO CHIP COMPANY " AND IMMEDIATELY REMEMBER THE PLACE. ARVAY POTATO CHIPS , A PLACE THAT WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED. THANK YOU FOR THE MEMORIES . MY ADDRESS AT THE TIME WAS 1548 EAST 29TH STREET. DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET
ReplyDeleteI also remember Arvay potato chips. My family lived at 1521 E. 29th. I am 67 years old and live in Long Beach, CA. My younger brother is visiting and just asked me if I remembered. I remember going to the business window in the front as well. Our favorite memories were getting the week old chips they would throw out in the back in the big containers. Thanks for the memory. 😊
ReplyDeleteI can remember as a child, my dad would take a tin can to them and they would fill the can and give it back to my dad. He would go every other Saturday. I am 72.
ReplyDeleteHow happy I am to have seen this! My dad was good friends with Mr. Arvay. Dad had an ornamental iron and welding business on E. 28th St. and was also Hungarian (as was my mom). For a time, (before my brother and I came along),they and my 2 older sisters, lived on E. 31st St. at my maternal grandmother's house. The neighborhood was close-knit as were the businesses. At some point, perhaps around 1958-59, Dad bought one of Mr. Arvay's delivery trucks. It was like an old econoline-style van or bakery delivery truck. Often he would drive with the sliding driver's door OPEN!! Once, Dad took me to Mr. Arvay's chip factory. I must have been 5,6, or 7 years old. What a TREAT! a HUGE metal table with sides filled with freshly made chips ready to be put into bags. My eyes must've been HUGE looking at all those chips ( a special treat we rarely had in our house). Mr. Arvay looked at me & asked if I wanted some. I nodded. He filled a small bag to overflowing and handed it to me. It was HEAVENLY to a kid!! What a great memory! Thanks for inspiring it!
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