Top 40 Erie Cafes in 1959

Old Time Erie Cafes in 1959.

Cafe, tavern, pub, club, bar, beer garden, saloon. Why so many different names? It's a mystery to me. One thing I do know is that the term 'Cafe' seems to have all but disappeared from the Erie telephone book in relation to a retail establishment that has a license to sell liquor and beer.

Ice cold Koehler's, anyone? Back in 1959, there was a whole column of cafes in the phone book, mainly on the east side of Erie, PA. There were 28 on the east side and 13 on the west side. Seven of the establishments were on Parade Street. Five cafes were located within a six-block radius (Bruno's, Golden Goose, Krakow, Merski's and Warsaw). Quite a few were still in existence in the late 70s and early 80s.

Keep in mind that this list only includes cafes. No taverns, pubs, clubs, bars or beer gardens. I wonder how many liquor licenses were issued by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1959. 

How many cafes do you recognize from this list?

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Sherlock's article from Erie Star Aug. 1982

During the summer between tenth and eleventh grade, I wrote for the Erie Star Magazine, published by Randy Arrowsmith. I thought this would be a great stepping stone on my way to Rolling Stone. I wrote about Sherlock's on State Street and Park Place on North Park Row. The two bars connected and formed an "L" shaped property. Given my young age, I was allowed but a brief time to gather information inside the bar, and the owners were none too happy about me being there. Think 'Drive by Writing.' You'll notice there are no quotes from anyone who worked at the bar. 

Sherlock's was located in the building that housed the old Parris Supper Club. The bar is still going strong in 2014.

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