Louie’s Bar – 1947 Happy New Year Ad

Here’s a nice quarter-page ad for Louie’s Bar wishing all of his patrons a Happy New Year. The seasonal advertisement featuring owners Louie and Julia Kosa ran in the Lorain Journal on December 30, 1946.

I like the tradition during the 1940s and 50s in which Lorain businesses took out ads which included photographs of the owners. It was a nice touch to see the people behind the company.

From information gleaned from Lorain City Directories, it appears that Julia Kosa had been a waitress at an establishment run by Charles DeBracy located at 1806 E. 28th Street since the early 1940s. By the time of the 1947 edition of the directory, Louie’s Bar had taken over the location. Charles DeBracy then moved over to the Twenty-two Hundred Bar at 2201 E. 28th Street, which he operated with Frank Ursic.

A slight change of address for Louie’s Bar from 1806 E. 28th to 1802 E. 28th occurred around the time of the 1950 city directory. The Kosas continued to operate their bar at that address until the mid-1950s, when Louie’s was replaced by the City Bar in the directory listings.

At some point, the Kosas relocated to Florida, where they owned and operated an apartment complex in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea.

Julia Rosa passed away in October 2000.

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So what does the E. 28th Street city block where Louie’s Bar was located look like today?

Assuming that the 1950s numerical addresses correspond to the same buildings today, here is where Louie’s was located on the south side of E. 28th Street near its intersection with Pearl Avenue, directly across from the National Tube offices.

Today, Louie’s original 1806 E. 28th Street location is home to Three Star Restaurant (seen on the left with the two signs above the door).

And for decades, Louie's later 1802 E. 28th Street address has been associated with City Bar (located in the smaller building on the right).