Main Street Memories…Eat It and Beat It!
Before anyone had ever heard of McDonald’s, Burger King or other fast food outlets, 1950′s Downtown Bennington, Vermont had its own selection of luncheonettes, snack bars, soda fountains, lunch counters and other places you could get a quick bite.
The list is long (and in no particular order): The Village Nook, Peter’s Ice Cream Shop, The Sweet Shop, The Dinette, The Maple Sugar Bowl, Century Ice Cream Shop and The Chef Sandwich Shop. This doesn’t even include full fledged restaurants such as The Paradise, Richards or the Vermont Restaurant.
Almost all of these quick eateries had two things in common: a counter and a soda fountain. They also opened earlier than the rest of the Main Street stores and closed later so that the people who worked on Main Street could stop by on their way to or from work.
To jog your memories for those of you from Bennington, here is where they were located:
The Village Nook was where today’s Madison Brewery is located at 428 Main Street and Peter’s Ice Cream Shop was located were Allegro’s Restaurant stands today at 520 Main Street. In between these two shops was the Chef Sandwich Shop approximately where Tofel’s Jewelers is now located. Across the street between Hoisington Realty and Shaffe’s Men’s Shop is where The Sweet Shop was and on North Street The Dinette was were A Kind Place is now located. A bit further down North Street The Maple Sugar Bowl was where Beltone Hearing Aids is. Finally, the Century Ice Cream Shop was where Greenberg’s parking lot is now situated.
The kids from BennHi would usually stop at the Nook ,Peter’s or The Sweet Shop because they were on their way home from school. Some of these shops, like Peter’s, made their own ice cream while others had the well known brand of Sealtest Ice Cream.
I worked at the local music and photography store, Noveck’s, after school every day and on Saturdays. Working in the music store had definite advantages because most of the attractive high school girls would come in at least once a week to buy the latest Elvis Presley or Ricky Nelson record.
On Friday, the stores would stay open until 9:00 in the evening. Friday is also when Mr. Noveck paid his employees and after getting paid I would go out to one of these eateries for supper. One time I went to Peter’s Ice Cream Shop because I loved their sandwiches. I ordered a Western. Then I ordered a tuna salad. Then I ordered a grilled ham and cheese. (Teenage boys can eat a lot). After I finished the third sandwich John Geannelis, the proprietor, said “You order a fourth sandwich, and the fifth one is on me!” Teenage boys also love a challenge. I had a ham salad and then an egg and olive – compliments of John, of course.
Those places are all gone now as Main Street, and the world for that matter, has changed. And I’m still a teenage boy at heart, enjoying John Geannelis’ sandwiches.
Tags: Bennington, downtown, Downtown Bennington, Main Street, memories, Vermont