Tudy's 20th Anniversary – August 1973

Tudy's Restaurant was a Lorain County favorite for decades, fondly remembered by those who enjoyed its pleasant ambience and fine food. Founded and operated by Art "Tudy" Diaz, the popular eatery was located on North Ridge Road E. in Elyria Township.

And fifty years ago this month, Tudy's celebrated its 20th Anniversary with an advertising feature on the Business & Industry Review page, as well as a Journal interview with Diaz. 

Here's the Business page feature article, which ran in the Journal on August 6, 1973.

And here's the interview, written by Staff Writer Mark Ellis. It appeared in the Journal back on August 12, 1973.

As noted in the article, Tudy's started out as a drive-in in 1953, but quickly expanded to a sit-down restaurant.

Two years after the 1973 article, Diaz sold his restaurant to another well-known local restauranteur, Richard Head (profiled in this 4-part blog series) of The Hoop/Manners fame. But by 1980, Diaz was back at the helm of his beloved eating spot. He would remain there until late 2000, when he retired and sold the business to Con-Sun Foods, who built a Sunoco gas station and convenient store at that location.

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Tudy's has been the subject of two other blog posts. This one featured a 1970 ad and a photo of the 'Drive-in' sign; this more extensive post featured several ads and photos from 1972 to 1975.