Deutschof Becomes Danny's – March 1954

Do you remember the Deutschof? 

The restaurant known as "the Fun Spot of Lorain" held its Grand Opening at its original location at 571 Broadway in 1933. It moved to its new location at 651 Broadway in the late 1940s. There, it continued its fine reputation as a place to enjoy fine food and the best in entertainment.

(I did a multi-part series on the Deutschof, featuring some great photos of its interior provided by a reader, starting waaaaay back here in 2011.)

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Joseph L. Deutsch, the owner of the Deutschof, passed away in late May 1949. The business kept on for a few more years before a major change took place in March 1954 – a new name, new approach and (I'm assuming) a new owner.

Here's the ad announcing the transition from the Deutschof to Danny's Bar (or just Danny's for short). It ran in the Lorain Journal back on March 12, 1954.

The ad is interesting in that it appears (via the illustration of the grinning worker punching his time card) that Danny's was trying to be the place where a working man could stop after work – sort of a 1950s version of "Miller Time." But the ad counteracts this theme by pointing out that the 'whole family is welcome.'

But it appears that Danny's didn't last very long. The building would be the home of Ben Hart Show Bar about a year later.

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Stopping for a drink after work apparently was a big thing in a working man's town like Lorain, judging by the number of bars located all in a row on a major street, especially across from a factory or plant (like U. S. Steel).

Even my grandfather was known to stop every night on his way home from his job at the Journal for a drink at the Elks Club. Mom told me that a few times she was sent to fetch him there, and she remembered the boisterous singing of bawdy songs, like Roll Me Over.

I'm (*hic*) guilty of the practice myself. While in my 20s, I worked for an architect on E. Ninth Street in Downtown Cleveland for a short while in the early 1980s. Very conveniently, there was a bar with a very nice lounge located in our building at street level. (Our office was in the basement.) So naturally, the other two guys I worked with (a draftsman and a landscape architect) and I stopped for a quick snort each night. It gave the draftsman time to flirt with the cocktail waitress, as well as regularly providing me an opportunity to almost miss my bus home. I remember many times running like Dagwood Bumstead from E. Ninth to Public Square trying to get there in time.