Matchbook Covers from Sandusky Businesses

Do you remember when you could grab a free book of matches on your way out of a restaurant or store?

Journalist and author Harry Van Stack donated several matchbook covers from Sandusky businesses to the Sandusky Library. The matchbooks were from five restaurants and a service station that were in operation primarily in the 1930s and 1940s in downtown Sandusky. The Boulevard Cafe can be seen in the picture below next to the Ohio Theatre on West Market Street in 1937.

In the 1931 photograph of downtown Sandusky, the Pelican Restaurant is on the west side of Columbus Avenue, just north of Rosino’s, and Martin’s is at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street.

The Pelican Restaurant

Pictured above is the Pelican restaurant about 1928 in the 100 block of Columbus Avenue, next to the R.M. and C.B. Wilcox Company.  The Pelican Restaurant and Confectionery opened in March of 1928, with George Poulus and Michael Pappas as the proprietors. An article from the March 22, 1928 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that customers could purchase candy, or just a sandwich, or cold drinks, or a full dinner at the Pelican.  The soda fountain featured nickel fittings, and was located on the left side of the front section of the restaurant. The right front  window of the Pelican showcased the candies made by the confectionery. An ad in the Register lets everyone know that John C. Klee installed the plumbing for the Pelican.

In November of 1928, Michael Pappas became the sole proprietor of the Pelican. Here is a picture of the Pelican in 1931:

The Holzaepfel Brothers store and Rosino’s shoe store are just south of the Pelican, and to the north are the New Sandusky View restaurant, with dentist Dr. Edwin Butterworth upstairs; the Uthe and Hiltz drugstore; and the Interurban Office. Across the street, a group of youngsters were getting off the Lake Shore Electric railway car, and soon would head to the dock to catch the ferry to Kelleys Island. 

By 1941, Paul Mellio and Philip Pappas were the proprietors of the Pelican Restaurant.  On March 22, 1948, on the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, the Pelican was serving roast turkey dinners for sixty cents.

On Thanksgiving Day of 1954, Paul Mellio of the Pelican Restaurant saw to it that the prisoners at the city jail were served a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. The Pelican had the contract for daily coffee and sandwiches for the prisoners, but the dinner served at the jail on Thanksgiving was extra special. By 1960, Thomas Pappas was listed in the Sandusky city directory as the proprietor of the Pelican Restaurant. George Lenos  was listed as the proprietor of the Pelican in the 1966 and 1967  city directories By 1968, there was no longer a listing for the restaurant in Sandusky city directories.  Later  businesses which were at the location of the Pelican Restaurant, at 145 Columbus Avenue include a shoe store, a family bookstore, and most recently, the Crush Wine Bar. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to learn more about the history of the people and businesses of Sandusky and Erie County.