Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Richi’s Tavern and the Dewey Road Inn

Here’s a great ad for the Grand Opening of Richi's Tavern (later known as Dewey Road Inn), which was located on Dewey Road in Amherst, just a little north of North Ridge Road. Dominic Richi was the owner and proprietor.

The almost half-page ad ran in the Lorain Journal on August 28, 1945 – 74 years ago today.

Featured performers for the Grand Opening event were the Moonlight Ramblers, associated with Cleveland radio station WHK.

Richi's Tavern was actually the new name for a business that was previously at that location: Country Gardens. Dominic Richi was the proprietor of that establishment as well.
Amherst News-Times ad from June 11, 1942
Unfortunately, Country Gardens was destroyed in a fire in early November 1944.

Article from Chronicle-Telegram of Nov. 11, 1944
Less than a year later, the tavern was back in business in a new building and under a new name. A series of ads in the Amherst News-Times announced the comeback.
April 19, 1945 Ad
May 3, 1945 Ad
August 23, 1945
Here are a few late 1940s newspaper ads.
October 3, 1947 ad from the Chronicle-Telegram
June 23, 1948 ad from the Sandusky Register
Some time in the early 1960s, Richi's Tavern changed its name to Dewey Road Inn.

December 28, 1963 ad from the Lorain Journal
July 1, 1966 ad from the Lorain Journal
August 7, 1969 ad from the Lorain Journal
Sadly, just like Country Gardens, the Dewey Road Inn was lost to a fire. A short article in the January 20, 1977 Amherst News-Times told the story.

And here's the Lorain Journal's account of the fire.

From January 19, 1977 Journal
The burned-out tavern was vacant for more than 15 years before it was finally torn down in the early 1990s.

Today its location on Dewey Road is an empty lot just to the south of Amherst Village MHC.


Dominic Richi passed away in 1997.

2 comments:

  1. Does anyone have information on the band who use to play at dewy road inn?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bob Smallwood and Billy Turner.

      Delete