Grand Opening of the Charcoal Pit - April 3, 1954

Courtesy CardCow.com

Here's the Grand Opening ad for the well-remembered Charcoal Pit, which was located at 31st and Pearl in South Lorain. The ad ran in The Lorain Journal on April 3, 1954 – exactly 60 years ago today.

The ad reveals some of the restaurant's pleasant decor, as well as showing some of the staff. Terry Tomasic is listed as the Manager.

I mentioned this restaurant before on the blog (back here and here) and posted a few ads, along with the postcard at left. (The page of the CashCow website containing the postcard includes several posted comments from Lorainites.)

The restaurant's address was 3059 Pearl Ave. What was there before the Charcoal Pit?

The building had a variety of tenants. In the early 1930s it was vacant. The Lorain Public Library operated a branch operation there from the mid-1930s or so until around 1945. After that, Quality Appliance Company was listed in the directories at that address from 1947 to 1950.

The last tenant before the Charcoal Pit was Lorain Spudnut Drive-in in 1952.

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Down Grove: A Novel (2005) by Richard Allen Kulics is a murder mystery that takes place in South Lorain on Grove Avenue. The book makes lots of references to Lorain businesses and history, and at one point one of the characters decides to go to the Charcoal Pit for a burger and fries. I've only read a few online excerpts of the book but it looks like a lot of fun.