My Aunt Debbie was extremely helpful in helping me source old photos, and very vocal about the fact that there were better diners to pull up to than Rudy's, good as Rudy's is*..Call it nepotism, but for the moment, I had to agree when Debbie sent me this background. What you see here is my grandfather's (my dad's dad) diner, Elmer's Restaurant. It sat at the corner of 22nd and Monroe Street in the Old West End of Toledo. If you stepped outside and looked to the west, in walking distance, you would see the Toledo Art Museum. I can still remember spending nights at my Aunt Debbie's, when my mom worked midnight shifts. We'd get up in the dark blue light of a.m. to open the ol' diner( well, Debbie opened, I was the plus one), my mom picking me up shortly thereafter for another exciting day of..le sigh...grade school. It turns out a friend of mine, a car buff in his own right, and a former Toledoan as well(now in Chicago too), also used to go to my granddads restaurant in the early '90s. I never would have known that until I showed him this pic. My, what a backdrop will do to draw together immediate and extended family, as well as longtime friends. Wish we could all have one of those Elmerburgers right now.....
*Rudy's , this post is in NO WAY a slight to your establishment. In fact, I plan to load up on chili dogs next time I come through town..I'm driving right past Packo's, straight to Rudy's!!*