Grand Opening of the Charcoal Pit - April 3, 1954

Courtesy CardCow.com

Here's the Grand Opening ad for the well-remembered Charcoal Pit, which was located at 31st and Pearl in South Lorain. The ad ran in The Lorain Journal on April 3, 1954 – exactly 60 years ago today.

The ad reveals some of the restaurant's pleasant decor, as well as showing some of the staff. Terry Tomasic is listed as the Manager.

I mentioned this restaurant before on the blog (back here and here) and posted a few ads, along with the postcard at left. (The page of the CashCow website containing the postcard includes several posted comments from Lorainites.)

The restaurant's address was 3059 Pearl Ave. What was there before the Charcoal Pit?

The building had a variety of tenants. In the early 1930s it was vacant. The Lorain Public Library operated a branch operation there from the mid-1930s or so until around 1945. After that, Quality Appliance Company was listed in the directories at that address from 1947 to 1950.

The last tenant before the Charcoal Pit was Lorain Spudnut Drive-in in 1952.

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Down Grove: A Novel (2005) by Richard Allen Kulics is a murder mystery that takes place in South Lorain on Grove Avenue. The book makes lots of references to Lorain businesses and history, and at one point one of the characters decides to go to the Charcoal Pit for a burger and fries. I've only read a few online excerpts of the book but it looks like a lot of fun.

The Charcoal Pit Part 2

Here's another Lorain Phone Book ad for the Charcoal Pit, this time from 1956. It's interesting to me because there's a couple things going on marketing-wise.

First of all, there's an advertising mascot  – a chicken dressed like an artiste, with beret, paint brush and – spats? I'm not sure if he is just a piece of clip-art that was added to the ad, or if he is a bona-fide mascot.

Also of interest is the reference to King Henry Family Style Chicken Dinners. I've scoured the internet to no avail trying to find some other mention of this brand. (All I could find is the claim that King Henry IV of France believed that everyone should eat chicken on Sunday.)

The whole ad is probably a template, supplied by the oven manufacturer, which the restaurant could customize with their city, phone number, menu, etc.

The ad is intriguing, though. Imagine broiling a chicken to a golden brown in two minutes! At that rate, in five minutes you'd have a pile of ashes!

The Charcoal Pit

I was poking around the cardcow.com vintage postcard website when I saw the above image of the Charcoal Pit restaurant at 31st and Pearl out in South Lorain. It really intrigued me, as I had never heard of it.

After spending a little time in the Lorain Public Library, I discovered that the Charcoal Pit first appeared in the city directory in 1954, with Alex Horvath as the owner/operator.

Its phone book ads make it look like a terrific place. Look at that menu – roast duck & lobsters? Wow!

1955 Lorain Phone Book advertisement

Here's another ad from a few years later. The menu kept getting better. At this point they even had chicken paprikas.

1959 Lorain Phone Book advertisement

It looks like around 1968 the restaurant disappeared from the city directory. By 1970, a church apparently took over at that address.

Today, the Charcoal Pit's building is gone from the 3059 Pearl Avenue location. However, landscaping and the wonderful, well-known South Lorain mural keep the scene from becoming just another vacant lot.

The Charcoal Pit's former location today

If you compare the 'now' photo above with the vintage postcard, you can just make out a little bit of the distinctive roof of the house on the right.

If anyone remembers the Charcoal Pit, please be sure to leave a comment!