Conn's Cafeteria
This entry is prompted by memories triggered from photographs in Springfield Rewind: Monroe Between 5th & 6th - 1949, featuring the Senate Movie Theater on the north side of Monroe between Fifth and Sixth.
By the 70's, on each side of the Senate were dining establishments. You could get into both those restaurants from doorways inside the lobby of the Senate, or, of course, from the street.
Obscured in the Springfield Rewind photo is the one immediately to the west. I might be wrong, but I believe it was Conn's. Perhaps Conn's Cafeteria. The place was long and narrow. When you walked in the door from the street, there were tables in front, and towards the middle on the left was the serving line. Across from the serving line, on the right, were more tables lined up against the wall.
Some days, I would stop in Conn's on my way to work. There was one lady working there at that time of the morning. Her name was Margie. She was old, and small, and wiry. She was always nice to me.
Margie could take a cinnamon danish, and in the blink of an eye, cut it into two slices. She would butter the cut side of each half, toss them on a hot griddle, and squish them down with a trowel until both parts were heated to perfection. The whole process took about a minute and a half.
I would take that grilled danish back to my desk on the 11th floor of the Ridgely Building and just about swoon from the taste. It was so wonderfully delicious. That original taste is something I've never been able to recreate. The danish and a Coke cost a dollar.
If I got anything wrong in this entry, please let me know in the comments. I'm particularly concerned I might have got the name of the place wrong.
By the 70's, on each side of the Senate were dining establishments. You could get into both those restaurants from doorways inside the lobby of the Senate, or, of course, from the street.
Obscured in the Springfield Rewind photo is the one immediately to the west. I might be wrong, but I believe it was Conn's. Perhaps Conn's Cafeteria. The place was long and narrow. When you walked in the door from the street, there were tables in front, and towards the middle on the left was the serving line. Across from the serving line, on the right, were more tables lined up against the wall.
Some days, I would stop in Conn's on my way to work. There was one lady working there at that time of the morning. Her name was Margie. She was old, and small, and wiry. She was always nice to me.
Margie could take a cinnamon danish, and in the blink of an eye, cut it into two slices. She would butter the cut side of each half, toss them on a hot griddle, and squish them down with a trowel until both parts were heated to perfection. The whole process took about a minute and a half.
I would take that grilled danish back to my desk on the 11th floor of the Ridgely Building and just about swoon from the taste. It was so wonderfully delicious. That original taste is something I've never been able to recreate. The danish and a Coke cost a dollar.
If I got anything wrong in this entry, please let me know in the comments. I'm particularly concerned I might have got the name of the place wrong.
posted by Marie at 4:55 PM
4 Comments:
Didn't Margie later have her own place, a sort of greasy chilli and burger joint right along there, too? Seems to me I remember that around 1974-75?
Margie was my mother-in-law. She did have her own place...Margie's Sandwich Shop. The shop was first in the Conn's location and later when the apartments were built downtown she moved to another spot on Monroe. She had the best chilli in town...grease and all! She was small and wiry..barely 5 ft tall and she was nice to everyone!
Hi Marie,
Your memories of Conn's are correct. What a great place to go to!
Do you remember seeing a very short, petite woman there (a waitress) with very dark brown hair and brown eyes named Helen?
I appreciate your memories!
WELL THE BEST CHILLI IN TOWN IN 1970 WAS JOE'S @ 15TH AND ASH..........WALK UP WINDOW AND ALL
Post a Comment
<< Home