Some Forgotten Westerville Restaurants

Restaurants come and restaurants go.  What makes an eatery memorable?  Memory of a restaurant engages the senses, most of which leave no trail.  History tells us that we missed many restaurants by being born too soon.  Restaurants have been around as long as towns have, and Westerville has had her share of them.  We can recall the past by reading menus, cookbooks, and restaurant reviews; travelers’ accounts, diaries, and ledgers help.  But since food engages other senses, like smells, tastes, and visuals that cannot be reproduced on paper or laptop, we can only offer a partial history of some of Westerville’s vanished eateries. 

          Here are a few random Westerville restaurants. They were all chosen because they no longer exist, and cannot be taste-tested: 

          Possibly the first food-serving business in Westerville was the “tavern and inn” operated by Charles Rugg in the 1840s.  Located at what is now 25 North State Street, Rugg’s tavern was built on Lot #1, where James Westervelt built his log cabin.   Finding the lot “too dreary,” he sold it to Rugg.  The tavern’s principal business was probably not food, but liquor and rooms. However, meals may have been offered, at least to avoid quick inebriation.[1]   

The “Little Bonanza” restaurant of the 1880s was notable in that its proprietor was African-American.  Owned by Henry Fields, it was next door to a beauty salon, also owned by Fields.  Patrons could get their hair styled and then have lunch at the Little Bonanza.  As the ad declares, oysters were popular.  The eatery would pay money for gane, which may have wound up on the menu.  Fields was active in the Black community and also a musician.[2]         

It was not until after 1900 that business directories began regularly advertising restaurants.  Two eateries on North State Street in 1911 were the “Peerless” restaurant and the C. W. Wise establishment, which claimed to be the “Best place to eat” in Westerville.  The Peerless, run by W. S. Rarick used the motto, “We feed the people.”  The Peerless was not the first cafe run by William Rarick.  Rarick, who was a grocer, also owned the “Westerville Dairy Lunch.”   Offering 15c lunches and 25c meals, they were especially proud of their soft drinks and  ice cream, with or without “dopes,” of toppings.[3]  Both restaurants ran ads in the Otterbein Review.[4] 

Jumping ahead several decades, several restaurants advertised their wares at the end of the Depression in 1940.  The North End Restaurant at 50 North State Street advertised “chicken and steak” for 50 cents and 75 cents on Sundays.  They advertised “Tellings Ice Cream,” a Cleveland brand that is long gone.  Also departed is “Kennedy’s,” a modest sandwich shop at 33 North State.  Offering hamburgers, sandwiches, and lunches, Kennedy’s also offered ice cream, this time “Jewell Ice Cream.”[5] 

An odd combination was the “Travelers Shelter” at 344 South State.  Advertising “rooms, baths, parking,” the Shelter offered a little of everything.  Twenty-five cent breakfasts, thirty cent lunches, sandwiches, pre-packed picnic lunches, and “Thresher Dinners,” presumably a dinner of weight and heft. A running special was coffee and two “Brown Bobby” doughnuts for ten cents. A Brown Bobby was a triangular doughnut baked instead of fried.  They are long gone as well.[6]   

The 1950s and 60s brought an avalanche of pizza restaurants that continues to this day.  One chosen more or less at random was Renaldo’s Pizza at 40 West College.  Also offering homemade spaghetti, Renado’s was aimed at the college crowd.  A 1963 advertisement in an Otterbein football program promised “free delivery to dorms and frats” and free delivery.  No information about tipping.[7] 

As the reader may see, keeping track of all Westerville restaurants would take years of research and an army of secretaries.  Hopefully this short essay will stir some conversation.  Or at least make you hungry!

[1] The Westerville Business District: A Bicentennial History, 1836-1976 (Westerville Historical Society), p. 100.

[2] https://www.facebook.com/westervillehistory/posts/4480582995302542

[3] Otterbein Review, June 13, !910.

[4] Otterbein Review, July 24, 1911.

[5] Westerville Public Opinion, August 8, 1940,

[6] PO August 1, 1940; https://www.metrotimes.com/food-drink/for-the-love-of-brown-what-2180455

[7] PO, December 1962.