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The Upper Krust = Meir's Place
Its proprietor was Meir Ovadia, an Israeli national who eventually (so the story goes) returned home. His business was star-crossed - flattened by the 1969 tornado, then struck by fire and robbery in subsequent years. Goyguy heaven will include one of that restaurant's high-rise sandwiches, probably with both "korned beef" and "pastromi." Izzy's had nothing on Meir's.
Sweeney's seafood restaurant was the successor in that space, and was in operation for ten years or so before closing up shop. Anybody know what's there now, if anything?
If I'm not mistaken, Mac's is now an equipment rental company.
Actually, its a GOOD place to stay away from. Roselawn Pharmacy and
Song Long are anamolies. Count the number of businesses from that area
that uprooted for other areas or just threw their hands up in the air and closed up. The specific businesses have been hashed and rehashed here.
Hold all the presidential elections you want, but leopards don't change their spots. I don't think I would be wrong (and I wish records were available to support my contention) that in this decade there are more police runs in the 45237 zip code in any one MONTH then there were in any one YEAR in the 1950s. Changing demographics made sure its not "Pleasantville" any more.
If you think you can help, please attend the Roselawn Community Council
meetings on the second tuesday of each month at Roselawn Lutheran.
You are welcome from 7PM on with a starting time of 7:30. You will find
a lot of concerned people who don't like what has been happening but I
can assure you it IS happening all over the City. Roselawn took a serious
blow when Rite Aid came to town running a scam for which its officers
went to jail. They took out Chili Time. Taco Bell and something else off
the main corner, then faded away into the night. Roselawn got raped
but at the time no one knew of any possible counter-action.
Thanks for the posts Ed. They bring back lots of memories. You described the place where Ron's Hunt Club was so vividly I can see it clearly in my head now!!
I grew up in Golf Manor and would walk to the Roselawn Library, Valley Theatre, etc.
I have the privilege of being on the RCC's e-vite list, and am impressed at the energy level of the group: "Festivus" gathering one weekend, Good Guy Loitering evening during another, community dinners, the annual Day of Fun, etc etc. My take on Roselawn isn't so much that the neighborhood needs to "taken back" as that its reputation needs to be taken back. Nearly all of the residential streets - and I've peered, or traveled, along quite a few as recently as last summer - are every bit as inviting as they must've been when the community was "97% Jewish and 3% assimilated." But the problem areas (north of Summit Rd, along Seymour Ave, and in the concentrations of Section 8 buildings mainly on RR and Losantiville) cause the mainstream perception that the entire neighborhood is a cauldron of crime. And of course few would admit it, but that perception is bolstered by the fact that Roselawn's "people of color" now comprise over 80% of its population as well as probably 100% of the population of persons under 40. When 93-year-old Ida Martin was senselessly murdered on Summit Rd, by somebody who should've continued to be a "Longview inmate," what made a sad thing sadder was how so many bloggers shrugged it off as everyday life in "that part of town." I don't think so!
The reality can be seen by cross-referencing any given street in the cincinnati.com (Enquirer's Web page) Data Center. Crime reports from the last five years are archived there, and what one will find is that the majority of Roselawn blocks only suffered one or two offenses in all that time. The infractions are along the lines of "theft from front yard," suggesting pranksters swiping a lawn gnome. Scary place!
But I wish the RCC and other organizations had succeeded in bringing Wal-Mart to the area. That would've meant eradicating the once grand Carrousel Inn + formerly respectable Drake Motel once and for all.
Steering back on topic: I think those palm tree sculptures are great! They ensure that no one can miss where the LaRosa's is. Now if only the Yummie Yummie deli could be coaxed back. I never got to try out their wares before the owner bailed for the outer reaches of Montgomery Rd.
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.
Heading north from Walnut Hills, with diversions up to a mile in
either direction:
The Alms Hotel, near William Howard Taft, now gone. The place
aged gracefully, shutting down one building at a time. Probably
rivaled the old Vernon Manor in splendor, at one time.
The Cabana Club, on one of the cross-streets off of Reading, possibly
William Howard Taft. This was an outdoor swimming pool, completely
shielded from the street and city noise by what seemed to have been
some large wooden balconies and a storefront entrance.
The Mandarin, Chinese restaurant, between Dana and Paddock. The food
was Cantonese style. Moved to Section Rd. in the late 1970's. Name
later changed to Ahn's Mandarin Gardens.
Next door, to the north, was an auto repair business, possibly named
Lennox Motors.
Across from the Mandarin was Loretta's restaurant. Cannot recall what
they served. Probably closed in the mid-1960's.
Daisy Donuts, just north of Victory Pkwy. The name was later changed
to Daily Donuts, ca. 1962, although the Daisy trademark remained.
Branches appeared around town - no idea whether this was the original.
The chain disappeared around 1980, I think.
A tad south, on Victory Pkwy, a high-rise apartment building opened
around 1970. There was a restaurant on the first floor which closed
several years later.
Just north of Daisy Donuts was Natorp Nursery. Natorp's may have had
several branches around town.
Sugar n' Spice, more or less across from the nursery. Now a breakfast
place but, as a child, I can recall having dinner there. Parents of
some friends claim - and I have no evidence to back this up - that
Sugar n' Spice was also once a trendy after-hours meeting place,
frequented by radio personalities from WLW's Crosley studios.
Howdy Car Wash, east side. One family owned this business for many
years.
Next door to the car wash was the Smorgasteria, billed as a cross
between a smorgasboard and a cafeteria. Basically a large salad bar,
in business during the mid-1960's.
Capri Pizza, adjoining the fruit market at the southeast corner with
Tennessee. Capri moved to Norwood in the late 1970's, probably
closed down a few years later. The pizza was very much in the New York
style; the sauce had a unique flavor I have yet to experience anywhere
else.
Across from Capri to the west was a drycleaner. To the north was
a paint store with a large orange sign - very 1950's.
Just south of the Norwood Lateral exit, west side, was a Frisch's
Big Boy. This particular branch was known by employees as the
"Mt. Vernon" store - no idea why.
Across from the Frisch's was Richard's (?) electronic supply company.
The Norwood Lateral opened in 1960, and originally extended from
Reading Road to the Mill Creek Expressway. The overpass was completed
in the early 1970's, when the road was extended to Norwood and Oakley.
Construction of the overpass necessitated a traffic revision in which
the west end of Catalina Avenue was cut off from Reading.
The Twin Drive-In, just north of the Norwood Lateral. Replaced by
indoor theaters in the 1980's. Residents of Lawn Avenue could see
the two-sided screen from their backyards.
St. Aloysius orphanage, across from the Twin and north. Held a carnival
every summer.
White Castle hamburgers, northwest corner with California.
Just to the west of the White Castle was a small building with an old
cannon in front. Possibly a VFW hall.
West of the White Castle, along California, were several businesses and
the Bond Hill Elementary School. The Tom House offered Chinese carry-
out, and may have had seating. At the northeast corner with Paddock
was a butcher shop and a stamp dealer. Around the corner, on Paddock,
was a Pure Oil filling station (slogan: "Fire up, with Firebird").
There may also have been a Bonded station on that block.
Across from the White Castle were a collection of businesses and a
synagogue. Lowenthal's pharmacy was there for many years. Alber's
supermarket also had a store there in the early 1960's. Just south
of the synagogue was the original Chili Time - late 1960's.
About a mile north of California was Swifton shopping center, already
well described in a previous posting.
To the west of Swifton was Woodward High School. Small prefab buildings
were set up around 1970 to accomodate student overflow, during the peak
of the Baby Boom highschool years.
On the northwest corner with Seymour was the Red Barn, an early
McDonald's-like fastfood place. Probably in business for about ten
years, beginning mid-1960's. McDonald's really did not expand heavily
into Cincinnati until around 1972 - before that, all I can recall were
the Kenwood and Westwood stores.
To the west of the Red Barn was the Seymour Lanes, bowling alley.
Around 1970 Zayre's, a discount retailer, opened a store to the north of
the bowling alley.
To the north of Swifton was the Crest Hills Country Club, which moved
to Amberly in the 1970's. The site was razed and replaced with a small
shopping center and a middle school.
About one mile east, on Losantaville, there was a small plaza with a
delicatessen, Stanley's. The plaza also contained the Bucheim Bakery
and the Plotnick pharmacy. All are long gone, although I think that
the family owning the bakery now owns Maya's restaurant in Blue Ash.
On the north side of Losantaville, west of the plaza, was the Vernor-
Wagner bottling company. They supplied several obscure soft drinks,
including Luv Ya cherry cola and Kickapoo Joy Juice. They may have
also been the local supplier for Vernor's ginger ale - not sure.
At Section and Reading, on the southeast corner, was a shopping plaza
with a large drugstore, possibly a Rexall. The drugstore had a soda
fountain and a newsstand. Also in the plaza were a tailor, Garson's
clothing store, Brenner's grocery and various offices and shops. A
Baskin-Robbins opened there around 1970.
On the northeast corner with Section was a gas station, probably Citgo.
Around 1970, the gas station was torn down and Chili Time opened its
main store on the site. This store survived until a few years ago.
Only the St. Bernard branch remains.
Further north was an Empress Chili. This branch opened in the late
1960's and did not survive long. At one time, Empress was the premier
brand of Cincinnati chili.
Adjoining or near to the site of the Empress was a furrier, Stanley
Rich.
In the early 1960's, somewhere north of Section on the east side, was a
business, probably a bar. The business was advertised by an ornate
display of some sort in front, possibly a large copper pot. The place
may have been called "The Gypsy". I could use some help with this one.
The Valley Shopping Center, on the west side of the street, had about
twenty businesses. The big draw was the Valley Theater, one of the
few theaters besides the RKO affiliates (Albee, Keith and Grand -
all downtown) to show first-run movies. There was a supermarket
toward the western edge of the center, probably a Kroger's.
Just north of the Valley was the Fortune Cookie Chinese restaurant,
also called Wing and Hing's. They stayed in business from around
1970 to 1990.
On the east side of Reading, across from the Valley, was the Essex
House apartments, built in the mid-1960's. I cannot recall what
preceded it.
Just south of the Essex house was the Blue Fox night club, circa
1970's.
To the north of the Essex House was a pair of grocery stores sharing
a parking lot, Bilker's on the north and the A&P on the south. The
A&P is long gone and Bilker's has moved to Blue Ash.
North of Bilker's, somewhere, was a carryout seafood place. I think
the name was The Fish Fry. They served deep-fried shrimp and smelt,
among others. No one I know can remember this store, but I can
place it in the late 1950's to early 1960's. I believe that it lay
on or near the sites where Old Town ice cream and Squire Jack's
fish-and-chips later appeared.
Across from Bilker's, on the west side of the street and somewhat to
the north, was Sand's restaurant. Sand's probably closed in the
mid-1960's. Decorative baskets hung from the ceiling.
Somewhere near the site of the old Sands, in the late 1960's, a jazz
club opened. It may have been part of a hotel.
On the southwest corner with Summit was a building with offices and
Lenhardt's restaurant. There were two Lenhardt brothers who opened
Hungarian restaurants in Cincinnati. One brother opened across from
the U.C. campus; his store is currently operated by a descendant.
The other brother, Kristof, owned this Roselawn store. When Kristof
Lenhardt sold the business in the mid-1970's, Len Berke, the new
owner, kept the name. The business closed in the late 1970's and was
replaced by Cheng Du just as Sichuan food was becoming popular.
On the northwest corner was a Parkmoor drive-in. Parkmoor, a St. Louis
chain, also had a store at Daly and Galbraith. These drive-ins were
popular in the early 1960's, but both folded. Perhaps the fare was
too similar to Frisch's.
The lot housing the Parkmoor eventually became a strip mall with a
United Dairy Farmers store.
Across the street from this lot, on the east side, was a Denny's. The
Denny's probably came in during the mid-1970's. It did not last that
long: in the 1980's one of Cincinnati's first Thai restaurants took
the building.
Near the Denny's was a Perkins Cake and Steak restaurant. Perkins began
as a pancake house in College Hill before becoming a large chain. The
Cake and Steak trademark came after the pancake houses were already well
established.
This part of Roselawn was part residential, part light industry. There
was a Pepsi Cola bottling plant just off Summit, and plenty of small
businesses nearby. Somewhere in the mix was a Putt Putt miniature golf
park.
To the north of the Parkmoor was a motel, Schuler's. It had a swimming
pool in front, and may have had a small restaurant.
Across from Schuler's were the Summit Lanes, a large bowling alley.
To the north of the Lanes was a Howard Johnson's soda fountain. It
probably closed in the late 1960's.
Thriftway, a local supermarket chain, had a branch in this area, on
the east side of Reading. The only other Thriftway I can remember in
town was in Norwood.
On the west side of Reading, close to Galbraith, was the Carousel motel.
It was actually a complex of buildings that grew around a much smaller
motel. At one time the complex included a restaurant, La Ronde, which
may have featured fine dining. Maybe there just isn't the demand any
longer for accomodations in north-central Cincinnati, but the place
has definitely seen better days.
Across the street from the Carousel was a professional building, a
health club and a movie theater. All opened in the late 1960's.
North of the professional tower was Stillpass Motors, a used car
dealer.
North of Stillpass was the Upper Krust, a delicatessen. The restaurant
opened in the mid-1960's and probably was in business for ten years.
Took a major hit from the 1969 tornado but reopened. They mainly served
sandwiches, and were quite popular. Al Morse's Ribs King later opened
on the site.
At the southeast corner with Galbraith was the Wishing Well, an Italian
restaurant and Cincinnati landmark. Closed maybe in the late 1970's.
Across the street, to the north, was the Rocket drycleaners. The store
had a rocket-shaped entrance. Their slogan was something like "Cleaning
that's out of this world."
The corner of Galbraith and Reading also had a Sinclair station. Their
logo was a large green brontosaurus. Rumor had it that the dino was
once stolen and placed atop Woodward High School. Closed in mid-1960's.
Nowadays, you only see Sinclair stations in the central and western U.S.
To the west, on Galbraith, was MacIntosh's, a family restaurant. They
featured a sort of sloppy-joe sandwich called the "Highland Dandy".
MacIntosh's opened a larger, more upscale, store across the street
around 1970. Cannot recall when they closed.
Just west of the original MacIntosh's was the photography studio of
Rob Paris.
The Glass Barn was located near Benson St. on the east side of Reading.
They featured the odd china or porcelain close-out at popular prices.
On the west side, near Cooper, was Peewee Valley, an amusement park
for smaller children. The park featured rides and had a small pinball
arcade and snack bar. A popular birthday spot, probably closed in the
mid-1960's.
Jo Jo's, an Italian restaurant, was located on the east side of the
street beyond Cooper, not too far from Bypass 50.
Also near Bypass 50 was Rink's, a discount retailer. Rink's was like
K-Mart, but preceded the latter by a few years. There were other large
discount stores in Cincinnati at the time, for example Arlen's and
King Kong. The memorable thing about Rink's, besides the devastating
fire in the late 1960's, was their weekly advertising spot on the local
Big Time Wrestling broadcast. Impressario Willy Thal (one-time host of
the old Midwestern Hayride) and another actor, dressed as a law man,
would pick up sale products, call out their prices and then hurl them
off the set.
The order of businesses going north along Reading from Section on the
east side was (a) Cities Service, (b) Stoneybrook Sohio, (c) Gypsey Inn
Bar & Restraurant. I had my first beer there in 52 or so.
The order of businesses going north along Reading from Section on the
east side was (a) Cities Service, (b) Stoneybrook Sohio, (c) Gypsey Inn
Bar & Restraurant. I had my first beer there in 52 or so.
You did it! For years I have been trying to learn the identity of that building, dimly recalled from childhood. Although a couple of people had suggested that it might have been the Gypsy, none of them could recall the actual location of that business. Another suggestion was Esther Price candies, which may have taken over that space for a short time.
Any recollections of the exterior? I seem to remember an unusual ornate decoration along the walkway in the front.
I cannot recall the exterior look of the building but it had an all-gravel
parking lot, adjoining George Thaubalts Sohio station to the south. I will
ask a couple friends from Roselawn about their recollection. Funny, I worked at the gas station for at least a year and other businesses within
eyesight but I didn't go inside bars until that fateful night. After that, I
mostly went to Newport with some older guys.
Ed, I hope you can make the trek across the viaduct for the meet-up on April 18th!
(Man's gotta have STORIES.) See the "sticky" post for specifics.
Refresh my and others' memories as to where the A & P was. It was somewhere north of Section Rd on the east side of the street. My coupon-clipping WASP ("you didn't know I was your Jewish mother?") mom occasionally included that store on grocery runs which - to young kids - seemed to stretch into eternity. I can place it as being north of Section only because we'd also swing by sometimes en route home from the pediatrician's office on the Brookcrest Dr side of the Roselawn Center Building.
It was reported in the Enquirer the other day that an incident had happened at a place called Vito's, at 7750 Reading Rd. Vito's was described as a restaurant, but it's not one I've heard of whether it serves Italian food or "soul" specialties or whatever. With Lenhardt's, Yummie Yummie Deli, and the Fortune Kookie gone, the only non-fast-food eateries I'm aware of around there are Song Long and Amma's Kitchen (nee Udipi.) More importantly - since this is a nostalgia thread first and foremost - what might've occupied that space back in the day?
Vito's nightclub started out as a Denny's then became one or two other food service (oriental ?) outfits but the last operator had too many family
obligations and the neighborhood taste for food was changing so she went
under. The building was sold at auction around 2003 and cleaned up with
new mechanicals. Then a chiropractor operating in the Valley Shopping Ctr. decided to lease it so it was finished internally to his spec's. He soon
failed and skipped town owing big money.
Vito Folchi was operating on the west side of Reading Rd. and getting
cramped so he bought the building and re-did the interior and exterior
to a brighter look. Vito likes to cook and makes a great chili but his
customer base doesn't allow for any peace and quiet. The crowds continued to grow and despite 8 people working security, metal detectors
and hired CPD outside, some incidents have continued.
Vito is a stout booster of the Roselawn Community Council and does what
he can to prevent violence but as they say "the neighborhood is changing".
It could change back to suit us old farts better but we have to realize
that our entire country is undergoing changes and those changes do not
seem to include "staying put" or serving our communities.
Ed, I hope you can make the trek across the viaduct for the meet-up on April 18th!
(Man's gotta have STORIES.) See the "sticky" post for specifics.
Refresh my and others' memories as to where the A & P was. It was somewhere north of Section Rd on the east side of the street. My coupon-clipping WASP ("you didn't know I was your Jewish mother?") mom occasionally included that store on grocery runs which - to young kids - seemed to stretch into eternity. I can place it as being north of Section only because we'd also swing by sometimes en route home from the pediatrician's office on the Brookcrest Dr side of the Roselawn Center Building.
The A&P was in the building that is now a church across from the Valley
Shopping Center or more directly across from Phat Daddy's& Amma's.
A little ways up Section, on the right 100 yards short of the tracks was
an Albers store, which became a furniture store. Everything to the north,
was a closed up Golf Course where kids like me could shoot rabbits, until
Jergens Lotion bought it and laid out a giant factory site. Somewhere
along the line, The City decided to NOT issue a building permit and the
muddy fields sat empty until it was converted to a general industrial park.
In the twenties and thirties, golf courses were included in almost all
communities in order to "upgrade the image", even though most home
buyers did not play golf.
The very first Dairy Queen was attached to a big produce sales building
just south of Avonlea about where the (now) church is, which used to
be Bilkers. I don't think Avonlea was there at the time but there was a
VERY large sycamore tree there in the 40's 50's time frame.
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Gypsey Inn
