Wednesday, October 11, 2017

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.
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 11, 2017 at 9:28 AM

    I remember that store well...When Ace Car Wash was open just a block away I'd walk up to this store to buy a Plain Dealer in the morning to read up on the Tribe. It cost a dime back then. Todd

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  2. AnonymousOctober 11, 2017 at 10:20 AM

    I remember the arcade in the early 80's. My buddies and I would mow lawns and spend all our money playing "Centipede" there and getting a giant fountain soda and pack of baseball cards from the nearby Lawson's on Kansas Ave. Very fond memories. Jim

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  3. AnonymousOctober 11, 2017 at 7:23 PM

    The building was owned by Robert Imbrogno, owner and operator of Imbrogno's Sohio and was sold to Mark Fuhrman of M&M Mower.

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  4. MarkOctober 18, 2017 at 7:15 AM

    Is this the same Fazio family that had a supermarket on the corner of Route 58 and W 21st St.? My Mother used to work in the bakery there, but sadly she passed away and I can't ask her these things anymore. Thank you so much for your site. I grew up in Lorain, but now live on the west coast and you have stirred up memories I didn't know I even had about some of these places!

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  5. Dan BradyOctober 19, 2017 at 10:35 AM

    I suspect that the Fazio store at Westgate might have been the big outfit out of Cleveland, but I'll take a look in the directories next time I'm at the library and post what I find here.

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  6. Dan BradyOctober 21, 2017 at 9:42 PM

    The city directories revealed that the John Fazio associated with the businesses at 1397 Colorado Avenue later started his popular photographic studio in Lorain in the early 1960s. Here is the link to his online obituary:

    http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/john-fazio-obituary?pid=147630391&view=guestbook

    Mr. Fazio provided the photography for one of our marching band music formals at Admiral King High School in 1977.

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