Gartner's New Supper Club Grand Opening – March 23, 1954

Gartner's Inn, located near the Elyria – North Ridgeville border on U. S. 20 (Center Ridge), has showed up on this blog as a topic a few times.

It seems to have been around since the early 1940s at the very least, judging by online newspaper mentions. Located 'out in the country' back then, it seemed to have been – not unlike Timbers Nite Club – a magnet for trouble and various violations.

Perhaps that's why the inn seemed to be trying to rehabilitate its image a few times. A 1947 New Year's Eve ad promoted the 'new' Gartner's Inn. And in March 1954, Gartner's Inn changed its name to Gartner's Supper Club. Here's the March 23, 1954 nearly full-page ad making the announcement. Note entertainer Lee Sullivan was the headliner.

So what's a supper club?

It seems to have been a Wisconsin thing that perhaps spread to other parts of the country. A supper club is more or less a restaurant. but a little more exclusive and intimate, with limited seating and a fixed menu. There was also more emphasis on ambiance.

Perhaps Gartner's was just trying something new to see if it worked. Nevertheless, within a few years ads for the business seemed to be unable to decide if it wanted to be called a supper club, an inn or a lounge bar. 

Here's a smaller ad that ran in the Lorain Journal on February 26, 1954, prior to the official Grand Opening in March.

By the early 1960s, it was back to being Gartner's Inn before changing to Porter House around 1963.

It was the Porter House for several years until it became Tiffany's Steak House and Brew in the early 1970s – continuing under that name until around 1996.
After a year with no directory listing, the address became the home of Lite Rock Cafe beginning in the 1998 book. After that, the address was host to a variety of businesses, some at the same time, including Home Plate Cafe, Roca Bar & Grill, Guys-N-Dolls, the Country Ridge, and Crissy's Lounge. 

Today, it is unclear if Indigo Salon still occupies part of the building.