November 1959 Trotter's Office Supply Ad

Well, it's about time to start thinking about Christmas. Actually, the decorations have been up at Midway Mall for a while now! But it's still a good time to think about buying some Christmas cards (that is unless you have a box stashed away from last year's bargain bin.)

Fifty years ago, this ad for Trotter's Office Supply in Lorain appeared in a November 1959 issue of the Lorain Journal. I love the artwork! The snowman looks kind of like a clean-shaven Oliver Hardy, and the surprisingly scrawny Santa Claus looks like he had been hitting the bottle! Maybe he was going to fatten up and sober up for Christmas!

Brady's Restaurant Part 3

Around 1970, catering was introduced as part of the business. This new enterprise took its name from the popular "chuckwagon" fried chicken that had been on the Brady's Restaurant menu since the early 1960's.

The catering business was called Brady's Chuckwagon Catering, and shortly after the restaurant became known as Brady's Chuckwagon Chicken House.

A 1973 ad is shown above.

Around the mid-1970's, things began to wind down. By 1975, only the catering business was still being advertised in the phone book. And by the time the 1978-79 phone book came out, neither the catering business or the restaurant was still listed.

For a little while in the early 80's, the restaurant made an apparent comeback as Brady's Coffee Shoppe. But that didn't last long.

Since then, John Brady has kept the spirit of Brady's Restaurant alive with his Brady's Good Food trailer, which in past years has been set up in different locations around Lorain as a seasonal enterprise. Painted bright orange and rimmed with lights, the trailer is a beacon for hungry Lorainites looking for – what else? – good food.

I didn't see Mr. Brady (who is a nice guy) out with his trailer this past summer, and I'm sure that I'm not the only person who missed his excellent corn dogs! But here's hoping he and his family are doing well and that we haven't seen the last of his restaurant on wheels. It's a real Lorain landmark!

Brady's Restaurant Part 2

By 1958, Chester L. Brady had passed away and John L. Brady was manager of Brady's Restaurant. A 1958 Lorain telephone book ad (above) listed several innovations, including outside drive-in electronic car service, as well as delivery anywhere in Lorain. (The ad also indicated that Brady's Restaurant was the Home of Pizza Puppies; I don't know what Pizza Puppies are, but if I ever find out, I'll let you know!)

Also seen in the 1958 ad is the restaurant's distinctive logo lettering.

Going into the 1960's, the business was still evolving. In 1965, it was listed in the City Directory as Brady's Restaurant & Dairyland, and in 1967 it was joined by Brady's Dairyland & Donut Shop on W. 21st Street nearby.

Whatever the restaurant was called in the mid-1960's, I remember that my family stopped there at least a few times, for ice cream or a snack. I'm sure we enjoyed the novelty of eating at a restaurant 'named after us'!

Brady's Restaurant Part 1

I mentioned the old Yeager's Acres restaurant in a blog last week, and decided that long-gone restaurants might make a good string of topics. So first up in this series is a well-known landmark Lorain restaurant with a great name that I actually remember eating at: Brady's Restaurant.

Although Bradys in Lorain County are now a dime-a-dozen (or a dime-a-Bunch), back in the 1960's there were only two Brady families on the west side of Lorain: the Bradys who owned the restaurant and us. And we aren't related. But it was incredible how many times I was asked over the years if we were the ones who owned the restaurant.

Brady's Restaurant was located at 2210 Leavitt Road, at the intersection with 21st Street. (The small white building is no longer there, having been finally torn down a year or two ago.)

The 1955 newspaper ad shown above provides a nice early history of the business. (Click on it for a larger version.) The ad reveals that the restaurant opened its doors in November of 1946 and was originally owned by Chester L. Brady and his wife Esther. The business appeared in the Lorain City Directory as Brady's Drive In. The restaurant's advertising mascot was a whimsical cook on a unicycle, most appropriately since the restaurant was in a fast-paced period of growth and innovation.

The voters have spoken! (About Yala's Pizza, that is!)

I almost forgot to mention the results of my blog poll concerning the possible relocation of Yala's Pizza. The (unscientific) poll revealed that moving would probably not adversely affect their pizza business. Three out of five people who voted were upset, but would still patronize the place.

I still have mixed feelings about the whole thing. Parking in front of Yala's is a hassle, and a drive-through would certainly solve that problem. And I really hate the idea of that little brick strip of businesses losing a Lorain landmark. But I guess as long as the pizza tastes the same, I'll drive the extra mile.

Maybe I'll mention my humble blog poll to the friendly Yala's counter person who hands me my 1/2 plain, 1/2 mushroom pizza each week!

First Federal Savings of Lorain "Bails Out"

I received a nice letter the other day from First Federal Savings of Lorain explaining that the Broadway office would be closing as of the New Year. I'm not too surprised, but I feel a little responsible.

You see, for years – all through the late 80's, the 90's and well into the 2000's – I did all my banking at that branch. I'm the type of person who likes the ritual of going to the bank. I know it's old-fashioned, but it keeps the tellers employed and it's a habit that I just don't plan on abandoning.

Well, in the last few years I got tired of parking in the street in a bunch of broken glass, and then having to walk quickly to avoid various colorful street types who loitered outside the bank. The bank was never too busy either. So although Michele and the rest of the tellers at the Broadway office were a great bunch, I reluctantly started going to the Oberlin Avenue office, which is the one I grew up with anyway.

The closing of the Broadway office brings an end to the bank's presence in central Lorain, which is where it all started. It's too bad, but understandable.

Remember Yeager's Acres?

I turned 50 this year, so naturally I'm starting to fall apart – necessitating a visit to the doctor for a physical. Since I hadn't been to a doctor in years, I had to find a new one. I was lucky enough to find a terrific one at the Tri City Family Medicine in Amherst. What was interesting to me about this is that Tri City Family Medicine is right where a restaurant called Yeager's Acres used to be.

Yeager's Acres was one of those things that I associated with Amherst, along with the Old Spring. The restaurant was located at the intersection of N. Main (or Kolbe Road if you prefer) and Cooper Foster Park Road. Two of its phone book ads – one from the late 1950's (top) and late 1960's (below) are shown.

I can't say I actually remember eating there, although I think my grandparents did. (The 'No Liquor Served' line in the ad makes me doubtful though!) Maybe I just liked the name of it. (Several other people do too, because a quick Google search reveals that there are several other Yeager's Acres around the country, including Ohio.)

The restaurant first showed up in the Lorain phone book as Yeager's Acres Drive Inn in 1949. Its listing disappeared after the 1971-72 phone book.

After the restaurant closed, a Lawsons was later located on the site. It, too, closed at some point, because my doctor's office is in the unmistakable old Lawsons building. (I thought I smelled chipped chopped ham during my exam.)

Anyway, if anyone has any memories of Yeager's Acres, please post them so I know I'm not the only old coot that remembers the place!