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Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Fri November 18, 2016, 8:51 pm
by David
Purity Cafe 1936.jpg
Purity Cafe 1936.jpg (315.46 KiB) Viewed 15805 times

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Fri November 18, 2016, 9:34 pm
by Bruce Osburn
Where was this restaurant located, and how long was it in operation?

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Fri November 18, 2016, 10:27 pm
by freddie hassler
@Bruce it was facing the RR tracks about where the Depot is now, it was there during the 60's so at least 30years since this Ad was in 1936[ :roll: /b]

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Fri November 18, 2016, 11:47 pm
by Bruce Osburn
Freddie, I thought that was where the diner was located, right across Main Street from the Terminal Hotel. The only time I remember eating there was way back in Autumn of 1962. A buddy and I were on weekend liberty from Norfolk and stopped in for a late night sandwich and coffee when we ran into a couple of my HHS '56 classmates.

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Sat November 19, 2016, 9:16 am
by Wayne Fuller
Freddie is correct. The Purity Café was located on Main Street facing the railroad tracks where the depot is now. Didn't it have a dinning room that faced Main Street also?

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Sat November 19, 2016, 1:01 pm
by lynnsteen
Bruce, if I'm not mistaken, The Diner was located at the intersection of Hamlet Avenue and Raleigh Street (diagonally across from Pop Nettles' service station). It also operated later under the name Pink Platter.

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Sat November 19, 2016, 2:55 pm
by freddie hassler
lYNN the Diner you mentioned was called by those names, the last one there was George Little, called George's Diner, who moved and opened The Little Bo Club in one of the Old Cabins at Ledbetter Lake

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Sat November 19, 2016, 3:04 pm
by freddie hassler
Purity Café could sell Beer after 12>00
for some reason and the Hub Grill couldn't so when
the Hub closed at 11:45 we would go there for another Blue :!:

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Sat November 19, 2016, 6:25 pm
by Bruce Osburn
OOPS! Looks like I goofed up when I said "diner". I unconsciously used the lower case generic term for a small restaurant and didn't mean to identify it as the Diner, of which you can find one in most cities and towns. Sorry.

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Sat November 19, 2016, 7:28 pm
by jamesharoldsmith
Freddie,

This man took a chance and would sell you beer after hours. He would bag it and give it to you when you left. There was a posting on here a few months ago and Malcolm M. knew the man's name and I think he was greek in terms of his ethnicity and probably in his mid to late 70's. ( This was in the early 60's ) I think Malcolm said he lived in that little house beside the USPO.

Jim Smith
HHS Class of '59

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Sat November 19, 2016, 10:50 pm
by freddie hassler
Jim, we would drink the Blue at the Purity Café, but I'm sure he would bag it for the road, and they had some great Burgers and Hot Dog's too :D

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Sun November 20, 2016, 1:54 pm
by Malcolm McLellan
In 1925 the Purity Cafe was located on Main St.across from the Union Hotel. In 1942 they moved
into the former Post Office space at 4 Main St. across from the Terminal Hotel. The man you
remember was called "Louie The Greek" whose name was Louis George Alexakus, Sr.(1909-1994).
He came to Hamlet from Lowell, Mass. in 1926 to work at the Purity Cafe and later owned and
operated it until it closed. He had lived in a room at the Terminal Hotel for 31 years until the
hotel was destroyed by fire April 9, 1993. He then lived in the little house between the Post
Office and Dr. Cloniger's office until his death in 1994.

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Sun November 20, 2016, 9:32 pm
by freddie hassler
is he the one that died in that house and wasn't found until days later?

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Mon November 21, 2016, 12:43 am
by Malcolm McLellan
Yes.

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Mon November 21, 2016, 2:13 am
by freddie hassler
Malcolm, you remember those stores right behind the Puritythat had small windows sidewalk tall that you could look in. they had booths like you find in Diners, maybe they were a Café, Grill, Diner, etc. :?:

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Mon November 21, 2016, 10:15 am
by Malcolm McLellan
I guess you are thinking about the Quick Lunch which was next door toward the railroad tracks.
It was like a diner and not a part of the Purity Cafe. Other than good food it was known as a
place where train passengers could quickly buy cartons of cigarettes and was open 24 hours
a day.

Re: Purity Cafe ad 1936

Posted: Mon December 19, 2016, 4:43 pm
by Wayne Fuller
Lynn, Johnny Lavoie was the guy that operated the News Stand cafe at the passenger station.