A 3.75 x 3.75″ ashtray. Information square is fired on the underside. My mother’s favorite restaurant. Made their own pies with real meringue, browned on top. In my 20s, I thought the place was stodgy, but I’d love to have a meal there now. Food was excellent, waitresses motherly. And I don’t mean that in any derogatory way.
I think the restaurant began in the early 60s. In 1953, Jack May was managing both Jack’s Grill in Sullivan Gardens and the Luncheonette at the new Little Store. Jack and wife Jeanette co-owned Center Street Restaurant and, later, Jack’s Restaurant on Main Street. There’s a complicated history in all this, but I can’t find a source for it right now. I’ll update as I learn more.
Although she cooked at least two meals a day for our family, my grandmother enjoyed the rare treat of going to Center Street for some calf’s liver and onions. She loved Jack and Jeanette, whom she knew from church. By the way, Lynn Garden Restaurant still sells homemade pies – coconut cream, chocolate, and butterscotch – with that browned meringue on top.
Lord, I’d forgotten (thankfully) about the liver and onions. Mom liked it. I could eat it, but not more than I had to (“Liver’s good for you!” “Then you eat it!”). And thank you for the tip on the pies, but I avoid sugar these days.
It’s come to that, more’s the pity.
Hey Bob, I worked there in the 80s after the Francisco’s took over. Sounds like they kept the same menu though.
I heard that, too. By the time Jack May left and the Franciscos took over, Mom was ailing and I wasn’t dining out very much, so I have no way to compare.