Historian and longtime contributor Rick Kurish made the find. "I ran across this postcard on eBay today," he noted. "A bit of Lorain’s ethnic history.”
It was a postcard for Chicharo Nite Club at 1808 East 28th Street in Lorain.
"I found an ad in the Chronicle-Telegram for the Restaurant/ Nite Club,” said Rick. "It was advertised as “Lorain County's Only” American-Mexican Nite Club & Restaurant.
Rick did some digging to find out more about the owners of the restaurant, Fernando and Basilisa Diaz.
"The Amherst News-Times article indicated they opened their restaurant in 1938, and were from Spain, not Mexico, as you might surmise,” observed Rick.
The couple retired in 1959, and both passed away in Tucson in 1979.
And, it turns out there was a family connection between Chicaro and a well-known Lorain County restaurant: Tudy’s.
One of Fernando and Basilisa’s children is Arthur (Tudy) Diaz.
As Rick noted, "According to the Lorain City Directories for 1957, 1958 and 1959, Arthur (Tudy) Diaz was involved in the last couple years of operation of the Chicharo club. The directories for 1957 and 1958 list Fernando Diaz as owner of Chicharo, and Arthur as the manager of the club.
"By the 1959 directory, Chicharo had disappeared from the directory, and the Mexican - American Citizens Club was listed at the 1808 East 28th St. address. The 1959 directory listed Arthur A. Diaz as the owner of Tudy’s Spot Drive In, at 1742 North Ridge Road.”
(Tudy’s has long been a regular topic on this blog.)
"It’s a good bet that Arthur learned a lot about restaurant operation from his father at Chicharo,” observed Rick.
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| 1808 E. 28th Street today |
If only those walls could talk!....I bet many good times were had at Chicharos.
ReplyDeleteThis was such a wonderful find!! Fernando and Basilisa are my great grandparents and Tudy is my great uncle. We showed this blog post to my grandma this morning and she had a huge smile on her face. Thank you for keeping the memories alive. ❤️
ReplyDeleteOn the same note as my Niece Beth's comments, I might add. I'm the Grandson Arthur (Tudy) Owens of Fernando, & Basilisa.I owned, & was in partnerships in the restaurant, Nightclub Disco, & Family dinning business for over fifty years. My children all worked throughout their youth, & early adult years with me. I'm retired now, but my son (third generation), owns an iconic Dive Bar in Tucson Az. With a very rich fourty year history! It's called the LB Saloon. Which stands for Liquor Barrel. And in the center of his very eclectic back bar, which is incredibly reminiscent of his Great Grandfather's Bar, proudly hangs a blow up of that very same picture, in your article Rick! As they say "The Apple doesn't fall far from the tree" Thanks for the memories. Cheers Amigo 🍻
ReplyDeleteSorry Dan for not giving your blog credit for this Article. Art
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