This week, we’ll look at the second of the café articles.
Downtown in 1945, Petty opened the café at 206 Bank St., just south of the Post Office, which at that time was located in the Red building adjoining the alley (the Post Office building next became Marshall Lewis Department Store in 1952). Petty’s lunches were 35 cents. Ruby Harbour bought the cafe from Petty a few months later and then resold it in 1945 to Effie Banks, who renamed it Post Office Café.
In that same year, it was almost destroyed by fire, and Staton’s Barber Shop just south of it was damaged by smoke and water. The next owners J.K. and Lorene Blalock bought it in December 1946, just before J.K.’s untimely death in January 1947. Lorene ran the café until 1963 when she closed it and sold the building to Marshall Lewis, who remodeled his building to include it in his dry goods store. Another good café in Union was gone.
In 1946, M.O. Barfoot and Osborn Driskell opened Bus Station Café, which was featured in a previous article. After the Driskells left, they opened Driskell’s Restaurant at 105 Bank St. in 1967, with Driskell’s Appliance Discount in the north half of the building. When they closed, the TWL next door at 107 Bank St. remodeled and expanded into that building. Another café gone…
Across town at 419 Decatur Street, H.G. Langley Sr. opened the Creamery in April 1947, and Annie Harris soon opened Red Rose Dairy Café inside it. It closed in 1956, and this building was remodeled into a gas station the next year.
In 1955, Odie Ware built a Dairy Queen next to the Creamery at 417 Decatur St. He shortly sold it to the Mowdy brothers. On May 2, 1957, M/M Bobbie Hitt became new managers of the Dairy Cup followed in November by new owner Majorie Weeks. She closed it after a short time, and it was reopened in 1960 as H.A. Knight Butane. The building was later demolished.
In 1949, H.C. Tovar opened Union Sandwich Shop at 221 Main St. Then in Dec. 1950, Adams and Thrash bought out Tovar and opened Union Grill. Rupert and Sally Bell Gaines owned the Peanut Shop there from 1959 until 1968. When they closed, a television repair shop followed in the building.
Next, in 1960, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Moore opened the Tiny House Café in the new building built by Harry Moore at 218 Peachtree St. across from Laird Clinic. Café management changed to Harry and Ava Ruth Moore in Oct. 1962. Harry later closed the café, replaced it with a gift shop, and built a smaller café on the east end that his wife Ruth turned into a beauty shop around 1970.
In 1960, Tovar and Gordon’s Hol’n-one-Donut Shop opened at 311 Bank St. next to the Mississippi Power Company office. In 1961, M/M George Blackwell followed. Then in 1962, Mrs. Benton Gordon opened Flossie’s. A fire broke out in the alley behind the stores in April 1963 which affected the backs of all stores from Kasdan’s on Main St. to the Miss. Power Co. office.
Flossie’s did not reopen after the fire but sold to Blanch’s (Harris) Café in May 1963. After Blanch’s death in 1966, her daughter Dixie closed the café. The Mississippi Power Company then rented that former café area, remodeled their building adding the additional area to their office, and began selling appliances in June 1967. That café area was gone.
On the outskirts of town on the NE side of the intersection of Hwys. 494 and Old 15, M/M Patterson opened Pat’s in 1964. Bud and Grace Miller followed with the Pink Hut in 1966. Late in 1966, the VFW rented the building. Next, in 1967, Alex Young’s Drive-In opened.
In 1969, Gatha Lundy and Sara Gordon took over with their One Mile Drive-In. Then in 1970, Pat’s was located there. In 1974, First Baptist Church used the building for a recreation center. I found no other documentation on this building, and since that time, it has been demolished.
In 1970, Hubert and Priscilla Killens opened the Colonial Inn on the southeast corner of the junction of Highways 494 and Old 15 South. Christine White was manager in 1972. Leon and Mary Gardner took it over in December 1972 and ran it until 1983 when Flowers by Deanna opened there.
In 1973, Harold Germany bought the former Pure station at 102 Bank St., remodeled it, and moved his Time Saver there from Decatur Street. Later that year, Willis and Janice Rigdon bought the building and opened Rigdon’s Restaurant.
Here are this week’s questions:
• Do you have more information on the building once called One Mile Inn?
• Do you know when the building on Decatur Street first built for Dairy Queen was demolished?
One more article on dining establishments will appear.
If you can make an addition or correction, please contact me at teresablount26@yahoo.com or 109 Woodhaven Dr., Union, MS 39365, or 601-774-5564.
