Town Crier Inn in North Ridgeville

Vintage postcard courtesy of CardCow.com; photo by Frank Leslie

One of the 'places to dine' in that vintage Lorain brochure was the Town Crier Inn in North Ridgeville. Its address was 38890 Center Road, which put it right across from the Ridgeville Shopping Center.

The back of the vintage postcard above reads, "On U. S. Route 20, a mile East of Elyria, featuring Early American Atmosphere and serving the finest Beef, Chicken and Ham from our open buffet. Steaks broiled over the Open Hearth. Party facilities available."

Another vintage postcard (also courtesy of CardCow.com) shows another view of the exterior, as well as a little of the inside. It sure looked like a great place.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot of information out there about it.

I found an image of one of their placemats online, and it features the restaurant's town crier advertising mascot.

The mascot was also featured in telephone book ads. Here's the 1961 ad that appeared in the Elyria phone book.

It's hard to determine how long the place was in business; it looks like up to the late 1960s at best. It appeared that the focus later was on the catering aspect of the business as opposed to the restaurant. The last listing of any kind that I could find was in the 1968 Elyria phone book under 'Catering.'

The popular Tudy's chain of restaurants had an outlet at that same location in the late 1970s.

Anyway, today the restaurant's building is sadly gone. Either a used car dealership or a car wash seems to be on the property today, according to various online sources. If anyone knows for sure, let me know. ( I rarely make it out to N. Ridgeville!)

Update: Just got an email from Owen, who has been reading this blog for about a year. He confirms that the property is definitely a car wash now. Thanks, Owen!