Mid-century Reading Road (Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton: groceries, health club, prefab)

[mike1003]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

This is not a new post, but simply tacking onto a VERY old thread about RR. Since so many have done the same, have no reflections at all other than how does it keep going on and on with no stated objective. I am a very short distance from RR in Mason. Yes, it is still called RR in downtown Mason. I am old enough to have spent some very good times on RR, but most of them have slipped into the realm of nostalgia.

Then don't open the thread.

We have new posters and many of us actually enjoy nostalgia

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by north avondale pitcher

. Capri pizza is still the best I ever had,

There was something quite distinctive about their pizza - maybe the sauce? In any case, I haven't come upon anything else quite like it, either.

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by mike1003

Then don't open the thread. We have new posters and many of us actually enjoy nostalgia

Woot! Woot!
You'd think somebody out where mega-churches are blooming like stinkweed would appreciate a counterpart area like Woes Lawn, where the latest one opened last fall in a long-ago chain steakhouse. But maybe a place with both chain steakhouses AND mega-churches is way way superior.

[Señor Slick]

Originally Posted by goyguy

Woot! Woot!
You'd think somebody out where mega-churches are blooming like stinkweed would appreciate a counterpart area like Woes Lawn, where the latest one opened last fall in a long-ago chain steakhouse. But maybe a place with both chain steakhouses AND mega-churches is way way superior.

There is abundant Jimson weed growing in the area ...... connection?

[phil.centers]

I suspect that not many people would understand that connection...

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by Mr. Bentwrench

The name of the bar just north of Reading and Section was "The Gypsy Inn". Spent many a night there. Across the street was my favorite gas station, Carl's Pure Oil. He carried your account until payday; before credit cards. God, it was great back then.

Thanks to help from a few sources, including local author Chuck Klein, a few facts have surfaced about the long-daparted Gypsy Inn:

In the 1930's the Inn was a nightclub, serving meals and featuring national talent. The late Billie Walker mentioned working there as house pianist in an interview in Cincinnati Magazine.

In the 1940's and early 1950's the Inn was owned by restaurateur Alvin Matthes. Mr. Matthes later bought the Fox and Crow, in Montgomery.

The Inn fell into receivership in the mid-1950s, after which it was acquired and run as a neighborhood tavern. It closed in the mid-1960's, apparently following the death of its owner.

The building was razed and replaced with a new structure housing Stanley Rich furrier and a branch of Empress Chili. The furrier remained in business for many years but the Empress branch closed several years later, within months of the opening of Chili Time at the corner with Section. Whether the Empress' closing and the Time's opening are related is unclear, but both parlors are listed in contemporary issues of the City Directory.

[susie cincy]

Originally Posted by MiddleCincinnati

This will probably only be of interest to a limited number of readers.
It contains my recollections of businesses and landmarks along Reading
Road dating back to the late 1950's. Memories fade and sometimes play
tricks, but perhaps other readers will offer additions and amendments.
Be warned, though, that what follows is quite a memory dump...

This is incredible information that brings back many happy memories. Thank you. Susie

[mike1003]

Evendale's new Veterans, Police and Fire Memorial Bell Tower, created by The Verdin Company.

Reading and Glendale-Milford

[LBailer]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I'm not sure the spelling is correct but you are on the right track. I believe the principle owner's first name was Ray. I remember going there after a high school football game with Reading High. They also had car-hops back then, of course everybody did. I remember the order phone-in system had the brand name Phone-A-Chef.That outfit made a killing back then. Drive on to the lot and phone in your order.

This is my first time on this forum- Not sure if I am replying correctly- I was doing a search for Bailer's Big Momma (trying to find something anyone may still have), as my grandfather Ray Bailer and my grandmother Ruth owned and operated that restaurant. They had a daughter named Sandy. I have lots of pictures of Z{-that restaurant. Very neat to read everyone's memories.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by LBailer

I was doing a search for Bailer's Big Momma (trying to find something anyone may still have), as my grandfather Ray Bailer and my grandmother Ruth owned and operated that restaurant. They had a daughter named Sandy. I have lots of pictures of Z{-that restaurant.

With Frisch's, Parkmoor and your family's restaurant all offering curb service, Reading Road saw a golden age of drive-ins in those days.

Forum readers would probably enjoy seeing your photos, if you are able to share any.

It would be really great if family members with links to the some of the other locations mentioned on the thread could share pictures they have inherited, as well.