From NYC to Dallas - Our Family Restaurants

The Splendid Cafe - NYC

Posted by Chris - After almost a century in the restaurant business there's no end to the restaurant stories my family can tell. Thousands of people have walked through our doors and eaten our food...and just as we've left an impression on them, they've left an impression on us. Next week when we get together for Thanksgiving, the conversation will invariably turn to the past and to those family members and customers who have meant so much to us.

It was my Greek grandfather who opened our first family restaurant in America. There he is seated at the counter in the photo above with his brothers and staff surrounding him. The Splendid Cafe opened in NYC in 1910 and served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. What I wouldn't give for one of those original menus. Check out the cigars and cigar boxes on the right.



The Bar-B-Q Matic - Akron, Ohio

This was our next restaurant - the Bar-B-Q Matic in Akron, Ohio. 1940. It was famous for the rosemary and garlic rotisserie chickens that turned in the window. My grandfather, "Pop" - as us grandkids called him - had the ingenious idea to position the vent so that the aroma of the roasting birds wafted out into the street and drew in a hungry and faithful clientele. It was also known for its broiled steaks and chops.

  

             

The Golden Nugget - Dallas, Texas

And then came - Dallas. The Golden Nugget was located on Harry Hines Blvd. back when Harry Hines was Restaurant Row. People rode their horses there and tied them up out front. Each cowhide booth had its own juke box which played great old Country Western songs and there was also a big Wurlitzer in back. We loved the saddle-seats at the counter, the wagon-wheel chandeliers, and the longhorns that hung on the walls. I was so young I had to climb up on the tables to bus them. The Golden Nugget served everything from eggs in the skillet to hamburgers, spaghetti, ribs, and our delicious Mexican platter.



The Papageorge Family in front of the Bar-B-Q Matic in Akron, Ohio



...and in front of Lefty's in 1995

We've served our finest to Laborers, Dignitaries, the Famous, and the Infamous

Much more to come.....

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