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When the Kewpee Hotel opened on September 14, 1939,
several area businesses offered their best wishes in the Sandusky Register. A regular hamburger sold for ten cents, and a
deluxe hamburger cost fifteen cents. The advertisement stated that the restaurant was “Sandusky’s
Only Hamburg Shop.” Besides hamburgers, the Kewpee featured malted milks, a
full line of beverages, pies, rolls, and cereals. Kewpee Hotel restaurants were
started by Sam Blair in Flint, Michigan in the 1920s. Soon Kewpee Hotel
restaurants opened in nearby states.
By the late 1940s, the restaurant was known as the
Kewpee Lunch; in 1954, it was sold by owners Carl and Helen Ruth
to Lyle Mayhew. The new name of the restaurant was the Whitehouse Restaurant,
and Lyle’s brother in law Roger Markley was the manager. Eventually Mr. Markley
acquired the restaurant, and it became known as Markley’s. In the 1960s, the
doorway was moved from the corner of the restaurant to the Market Street side
of the building. Many a young person went to Markley’s after Sandusky High
School sporting events. The chili was very comforting after sitting out in the
cold weather for a football game. A longtime staff member of the Sandusky
Library fondly recalls the Little Sister sandwich from Markley’s.
Markley’s closed about 2010, and now a Subway shop
and Amarone Italian Restaurant share the site.
3 comments:
oh my! that Kewpie building is great! thanks for posting
Thank you for posting this article. Brings back many memories.
How I remember those delicious Kewpee burgers after a Saturday movie matinee, back in the forties. That chain goes all the way back to 1918, where it first appeared in Flint, Michigan. I believe that five may still exist, one in Wisconsin; one in Michigan. My research indicates that three may remain in Lima, Ohio. How I do enjoy this Blogspot. Thanx again.
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