The Mark XI Opens – August 27, 1973

Yesterday's post dealt with the Grand Opening of Tiffany's Steakhouse on West Erie Ave. in Lorain, back in August 1973. Another restaurant that is fondly remembered by its patrons opened just about the same time: The Mark XI, at the Sheffield Shopping Center.

Above is an ad that ran in the Journal on August 27, 1973 welcoming the public to the new restaurant.

The ad reads, "We believe you will be pleasantly surprised by our new look. The elegant new decor has been created with your comfort and pleasure in mind. The Mark offers you the finest food and service at reasonable prices."

So how could a new restaurant have a new look? By taking over the space of a previous establishment – in this case, the Corinthian Restaurant.

The article below, which appeared in the Journal on May 31, 1973 explains. "When the Corinthian Restaurant at the Sheffield Center closes for remodeling June 10, it will open a month and a half later as the Mark XI.

"Pete Roubekas, 36, a former hairdresser who opened the Corinthian Restaurant on Broadway in Lorain back in 1966 and the second restaurant at the Sheffield Center in 1971, said today he has sold his business to Mark Figetakis of Akron, owner of a chain of Mark Restaurants.

"Roubekas said the new owners will convert the president dining room into a cocktail lounge and make the banquet rooms into the main dining area. Some $10,000 will be spent for the remodeling.

"The Mark group named this Mark XI, or eleven, because it is the 11th restaurant in the chain. Five are located in the Greater Cleveland area."

The Mark XI relocated to Midway Mall around 1983, to the former home of Sveden House. Unfortunately, it closed in the late 1980s.

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Back in 2016, I did a post about The Mark chain of restaurants (here), which included a photo of a menu – and some great reminisces left in the 'Comments' section.

As for the Corinthian, this post focused on the outlet at the Sheffield Center circa January 1973, while this one focused on the Corinthian Grill on Broadway.

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This placemat for The Mark dated 1980 is on eBay right now!

The Mark Restaurants

Back in March, I received an email from Dennis Waite. He asked, "During your restaurant research, have you come across anything on The Mark restaurants?

I had heard of The Mark, and remembered its distinctive logo, but never ate there. Fortunately, Dennis provided me with a pretty good history of the restaurant chain.

"The restaurant occupied the old McGarvey’s building in the O'Neil Shopping Center in the mid-to-late 70’s,” he noted. "It was a chain owned by Mark Figetakis, who I believe worked for the Brown Derby before venturing out on his own.”

Indeed, Mark Figetakis was vice-president of the Brown Derby chain before launching his own chain of namesake restaurants around 1965. The popular national chain of steak and seafood restaurants was headquartered in Akron, Ohio and eventually expanded to 25 full-service locations.

Apparently, each new Mark restaurant was assigned a number sequentially. The Mark 3 was in Akron; the one at the Sheffield Center was the Mark XI.

Here’s the first Lorain telephone book ad for the restaurant, which ran in the 1973 directory. As it notes, the chain already had outlets in Lorain, Cleveland, Parma, North Olmsted, Mentor, Youngstown, Akron and three in Pennsylvania.

Here’s a Bicentennial-themed ad that ran in the 1974-75 Lorain phone book.

By the time of the October 1983 edition of the phone book, the Mark XI Restaurant had relocated to the former Sveden House on Griswold Road. Its listing disappeared with the November 1987 edition.

There’s a good reason that Dennis has fond memories of The Mark. As he explained, "I worked there through high school, 1972-75." 

Our hometown newspaper should have fond memories of the restaurant chain as well. As Dennis recalled, "They advertised a lot in the Journal.”

Part of a Mark Restaurant menu currently for sale on Ebay

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Thanks to Dennis Waite for his suggestion.

Do you have a special or pleasant memory of eating (or possibly working) at one of the Mark Restaurants that you would like to share? Please be sure to post a comment!