Anybody remember these restaurants? (Cincinnati, Milford: broker, housing, station)

[coach02116]

Did anyone mention Klu's Steakhouse? I was too young at the time, but my mother was asking about it. Her and my dad went there a few times; they loved it.

By the way, I was in Cincy a few weeks ago for a conference and stayed at the Hilton Netherlands Plaza. Wow! Was that a trip back in time. Incredible to say the least; and being a history nut, I love the preservation of the art deco design motif.

[blockhead]

I think I went there. Ted Klusewski owned it, right? He was one of my childhood heroes, along with Frank Robinson, Pete O'Toole, and Vada Pinson. Unfortunately Ted left before the glory days of the late 60s, early 70s.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by blockhead

I think I went there. Ted Klusewski owned it, right? He was one of my childhood heroes, along with Frank Robinson, Pete O'Toole, and Vada Pinson. Unfortunately Ted left before the glory days of the late 60s, early 70s.

Ted Klusewski owned it for a time, in the mid-1960's. I think the name
was actually "Jack and Klu's". Any idea who Jack was?

[blockhead]

Maybe Jack Twyman??

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by goyguy

That has to be the same Jerry's which also had a restaurant in Woodlawn. Kids were given blank paper placemats with pictures to color in, and crayons to do it with, how cool is that? I'd forgotten about the birthday deal they had - between us three kids, we scored a few of those lil' cakes in our time. Their Woodlawn location (next to Goodwill Industries) closed circa 1970, to be replaced by Mr Jim's Steak House, now also a thing of the distant past.

There were three Jerry's in the Cincinnati area- Woodlawn, Anderson, and Dixie Highway in Covington. Many a kid got their choice of nine entrees and the birthday cake. We made it there five days per year.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by goyguy

"Eat in your car!" That was a selling point for Frisch's, too, once upon a time. At their Tri-County and Hartwell locations - and presumably at all the others too - you used to be able to pull into a parking space and peruse a pole-mounted menu with a built-in communication system. When meal decisions had been made, all that needed to be done was to press a red button to activate the speaker. A server would then bring out the food and take your money. It was obviously a precursor to the drive-through windows "all" fast-food places have today; society is now all about being too time-crunched to stay in one spot to do anything!

Here's a new subtheme: Who remembers York Steakhouses and the Forum Cafeteria? Those were mall fixtures from the '50s to the '70s, at least at Tri-County.

Nearly all Frisch's restaurants had curb service into the mid-80s. Have to admit that I funded five years of debt-free college education working four months at the Mainliner. There is a Frisch's at that location but the expanded menu is no longer there. Of course, Frisch's has expanded beyond the typical Big Boy menu.

York Steakhouses were based in Columbus and served some of the best salads made, The steaks were a lot better than most lower-end chains.

[goyguy]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Nearly all Frisch's restaurants had curb service into the mid-80s. Have to admit that I funded five years of debt-free college education working four months at the Mainliner. There is a Frisch's at that location but the expanded menu is no longer there. Of course, Frisch's has expanded beyond the typical Big Boy menu.

I only knew of two Mainliners in Cincy, one on Wooster Pike and the other on Reading Road. The latter is the one which was "downgraded" to a regular Frisch's. Seems I have to be the person to break the news: it closed a few months back. Earlier in this thread, and in others, people have posted their thoughts on this closing of a chapter in Cincinnati fast-food history.

The unironically named Mainliner in Fairfax/Madison Place is still going strong, complete with its 1950's icon of a sign that sports a silver airplane.

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

There were three Jerry's in the Cincinnati area- Woodlawn, Anderson, and Dixie Highway in Covington. Many a kid got their choice of nine entrees and the birthday cake. We made it there five days per year.

About all I can remember, besides the crayons, was that the
children's menu had a pasta dish called "Jet Spaghett". it seems
like the Woodlawn branch closed in the late 1960's. How
long did the other two locations survive?

A good friend attests to having been to a Jerry's in the South -
probably Florida - as late as the 1980's. I gather that the chain
held out longer in some parts of the country. There are some
histories of the Jerry's franchise to be found on the internet.

[tntnb]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

There were three Jerry's in the Cincinnati area- Woodlawn, Anderson, and Dixie Highway in Covington. Many a kid got their choice of nine entrees and the birthday cake. We made it there five days per year.

I'm pretty sure there was a Jerry's on Glenway Avenue back in the 1960s. Of course, I could just be hallucinating again . . . .

[MiddleCincinnati]

Originally Posted by jlawrence01

Nearly all Frisch's restaurants had curb service into the mid-80s. Have to admit that I funded five years of debt-free college education working four months at the Mainliner.

I worked at the Hartwell Frisch's one summer. Nice crew there
and we were all well fed, but it sure didn't pay for any four years
of university.