These are in no logical order. Just listed as they come to mind. Help me with these, I may not have everything just right. You'll probably have to be over 50 to remember any of these places, but trust me, they were better than what we have today. A lot of these include bars and taverns, but they were used just as much as meeting places, and to conduct business as they were to have a drink. Most had owners that work in their business, and knew the people.
Foo's - Downtown. Later moved out on Centennial Blvd. If I remember right it was started about 1960. The owner was Frank Yuk. He loved the place, and loved his customers. Remember the DJ bar? It was well known even up in Portland before I moved down here. Every salesman that came to Eugene knew about Foo's. Remember Ineze, Lee Baity, Dee Autoburn, and Whalen?
The Hunter Room - and Ed's pit Barbecue. Downtown on Pearl St. Later became Perry's. I think every one of the oldtime bartenders worked there at least once. Remember the back lit pictures of dead animals on the walls? (The Hunter Room!) Great B-B-Q ribs. The Trailways depot was in back, Greyhound next door.
The Eugene Hotel - Broadway and Pearl. Had at least three restaurants and bars. One was "The Bib and Tucker", known for it's prime rib. Remember the sign on the top of the building that flashed the news headlines as they happened? There were enough people downtown then that a news crawler was actually looked at.
Remember the chili dogs at the lunch counter, at (was it Woolworth's,?)..It's now the other big hole downtown. They were .35 cents.
The downtown Imporium - Great clothing and friendly people.
The Gay Blade - Downtown at Broadway and Willamette. Men's clothing, when "Gay" had a different meaning.
The "Old" Luckey's. Not where it is now, It was on Willamette St. There was no women's bathroom. Women weren't encouraged to come in. There was a shoeshine stand right inside the front door. When urban renewal helped ruin the downtown area, they paid money to move it to it's present location, water spots and all. They also added a women's toilet.
Brownies Popcorn stand - It was outside of Sears (Now known as That Big Hole).
Jack's Tavern - I think it was on about 8th and Willamette. The smallest tavern you ever saw. I think the bar would seat about 8 people and there were 2 or 3 tables. Small, but friendly.
Ron and Mattie's Caravel - Between Park and Broadway, just West of Willamette. Later became, The Spot, and The Lone Star, maybe something in between. They knew how to run a place.
Ming's restaurant - Chinese food and a lounge. It was on either 8th, or Broadway I think. I remember that my wife and I had lunch there about 1969, and were rewarded with a big cockroach in out salad. Check out the picture of the old Ming's ashtray here.
Archie,s Surplus Store (That wasn't the name) - North end of Willamette St. Archie Weinstein was a real character, and was also County Commissioner for a while.
George's Hamburger Heaven - near 13th on Willamette. Great lounge, and good food. Always had a Monte Christo sandwich on the menu. Old George was a good guy that knew how to run a restaurant, and he loved sailboats.
The Branding Iron - Franklin Blvd.
Pope's Donuts - North Willamette. Had that old automatic donut machine in the window. Was next to the Hielig Theater. (SP)
Bev's - 6th Ave. Everybody had a tab here. In fact, most places in town would give you a tab if you had a local business card. Good steaks, and good people.
Allison's Restaurant - Willamette St. A great place for breakfast on Sunday.
The Del Ray - Behind Allison's on the Park Blocks.
Snappy Service Restaurants, 1 and 2. There was a 3 and 4 in other cities. There was one on Main St. in Springfield that later became Larry and Cathy's.
Shulkie's Steak House - 11th and Conger. Later became Blisses
The Friendly Tavern - Out on W.6th Ave. Had great broasted chicken and a shuffle board.
Sam's place - Wilson St. Sam McKenzie owned The Cozmo Tavern (Cosmopolitan), downtown on Willamette. Urban renewal gave him the money to build Sam's Place. Maybe the only good thing they were responsible for. One of the first new taverns. Sam was a good guy, and played a good game of pool.
The Quarter Deck. Willamette St. near 29th. Built by Stan Daugherty. Another one of the good guys.
The Cooler - Off Centennial, Remember Bob Able? Maybe the first of the "new" taverns. It's still there, but nothing like it was then. Remember the dog food eating contests?
Zeke's - River road. Originally an old house and made into a tavern. There was another like it, can't remember the name, it was on the east side of River Rd. near the R.R. tracks.
The Pier (The Sire, The Steakhouse of the Kabuki, and ???) Changed hands many times. A bar upstairs and down.
The Black Angus - Franklin Blvd. Remember the stainless steel dance floor? Steak and lobster for $6.95. Alfreda,a great waitress, and Diane Young behind the bar. Many Black Angus Mgrs. started at this location, and went to manage others all over the West Coast.
Super waitresses, and good food. Bands that you could become friends with, playing music you could dance to.
The Office 290 - 290 River Road. Kurt Falkenstein and Bob Able. When I first moved here, I heard they were pumping more beer than anyone. It was THE place to go about 1969. Remember you could cook your own steaks on the grill in the front part of the tavern.
The Golden Canary - (The Dirty Bird) 11th at about Garfield. Bud Nixon owned it. The first topless place. Bud Nixon spent most of his time trying to alienate the liquor Commission, and did a good job of it. It was a good place to play pool, against some really great hustlers, and poker games too.
The Holiday Inn - Coburg Rd. Later became The Ramada Inn, and was torn down to make way for TJ Maxx. Tex Hager was the innkeeper. He promoted local prizefights for a time. It was a great place to go for a late night breakfast.
Hoots - Franklin Blvd. near Broadway. Open 24 hrs. The owner said he didn't lock the doors for all the years Hoot's was open. Remember all the owls on the wall, and the old fashioned juke box units in every booth? Great chili burgers, and breakfasts all day.
The Thunderbird - Coburg Rd. The place where all the high rollers met for happy hour. Many business deals were made there. Now it's the Red Lion. Some of the best bartenders and waitresses you could ever find back then. It was always busy with locals mixed with people from all over. Now you could shoot a cannon off in the lounge at 5 pm and not hit a soul. Kind of like our downtown is now.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember the poor bear in the cage at Skinner's Butte Park? Does anyone have a picture, or remember the story behind that?
That could be a whole page in itself.
More when I think of them...Please help with your memories, and my spelling.
