The Building at 1397 Colorado Avenue

I'm sure that many locals recognize the building above at 1397 Colorado Avenue as the former longtime home of M & M Mower (now known by its new name: Allied Power Equipment). Bascule Brewery & Public House LLC calls it home now (although it's not quite open to the public – yet).

But what business did the building house originally? I took a look at the city directories and phone books at the Lorain Public Library to find out.

The 1397 Colorado Avenue address first appeared in the directories around 1950 as the address for the East Side Fruit Stand, operated by John Fazio. Just as its name implies, the company's business was listed as 'produce.'

Within a few years, the company's focus changed to groceries and carry-out beverages.

1955 Lorain Telephone Company listing

About a year later, the name of the business became Fazio's Self-Serve Market.

Here's the somewhat racy 1956 phone book ad reflecting the name change. At least the ad has a nice rendering of the building.

Sometime around 1962, the company changed hands and became Sidlo's Self Serve Market. 

The name changed again around 1970 to become East Port Carry Out. This lasted until around 1982 when U.S. Arcade took over the location and briefly operated a game room.

The building's listing became 'vacant' as of the 1983 city directory. By the time of the 1984 edition, the two Marks of M & M Mower – Mark Fuhrman and Mark Balogh – launched their lawn mower repair company there. The business moved to 4050 Colorado Avenue in Sheffield Village a few years ago.

Best of luck to Bascule Brewery & Public House LLC.