Me neither? Possible next to Wise's pharmacy??
From: gatortalk@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatort...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Jerry Belloit Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2010 11:09 AM To: gatortalk@googlegroups.com Subject: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] After 82 Years, Gainesville Burger Joint is Gone with a Gulp I hate to admit it, but I don't remember this place. Where was it? Jerry From: gatorn...@googlegroups.com [mailto:gatorn...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Helen Huntley Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2010 10:19 AM To: gatorn...@googlegroups.com Subject: [gatornews] After 82 Years, Gainesville Burger Joint is Gone with a Gulp For those who remember Louis' Lunch After 82 years, Gainesville burger joint is gone with a gulp By Jeff Klinkenberg <http://www.tampabay.com/writers/jeff-klinkenberg> , Times Staff Writer In Print: Tuesday, November 2, 2010 ________________________________ Louis Pennisi founded what the family says was the state's first burger joint in 1928, 12 years before McDonald's launched. Louis Pennisi founded what the family says was the state's first burger joint in 1928, 12 years before McDonald's launched.<http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00147/a4s_encounter s11021_147466c.jpg> [Special to the Times] As Tommy Pennisi grilled his last burger, hovering above the dilapidated stove was surely the ghost of his father, Louis, who founded what the family believes was the state's first hamburger joint in 1928. "One Louis burger!" shouted waitress Emily Cheves, Tommy's daughter, jotting the order on cardboard. Tommy didn't glance up. He just threw a patty on the grill for the very last time. "I hate that I have to close," said Tommy, 75. "But this recession has killed me." If only every day had been like the last one, when the ancient white building on Louis Pennisi Street was packed with customers wanting burgers, fries and milk shakes. Every rickety table and every stool along the ancient counter was taken, and as the phone rang with order after order, another car drove up to the takeout window. Louis' Lunch was, among other things, the first known drive-through in the university town. "I love this place," said Margaret Kennard. "My momma and daddy started bringing me here in the 1940s. Now I'm 69. I've been coming here at least twice a month all my life. I'm not a McDonald's person so I'm not sure what I'm going to do." Louis' Lunch was 12 when the first McDonald's Restaurant opened in California in 1940. In a sleepy Florida town, in a tin-roofed building shaded by oaks, Louis practiced his version of slow food. Born in Sicily in 1896, he immigrated to the United States in 1911 and tried construction, orange picking and ice-cream mongering before using his mother's meatball recipe for his unusual hamburgers. Louis, whose formal education consisted of exactly three days in school, got by on elbow grease. "I worked 18 hours a day, seven days a week, for 20 years," he once said. "I never went outside, never went to a picture show." When he was 97, he could still be found behind the grill in his white apron and paper hat. In 1993, his son Freddie was shot dead in a restaurant robbery. Louis, long a widower, went on to help at the eatery until his death at age 106. His photo hangs next to the old menus and knickknacks, calendars and rusting Coke signs. In segregated Florida, Louis served black folks in a back room that later became a museum for photos of military vets who had been his customers. In integrated Florida, he served all comers at his ketchup-smeared counter. They included working folks in overalls, generations of students, and at least one future governor, Fuller Warren. Louis sold burgers for a nickel, then a dime, then three for a quarter. The other day, they cost $1.90 plain, $2 dressed with tomatoes, lettuce and onions. "Nothing quite like them," explained Terry Cake, 43. Years ago, when he was a student in Colorado, his best friends showed up with a treat. They celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with burgers instead of turkey. "Louis burgers," Cake said on Saturday, "tasted like home." Tommy Pennisi, who began working at his father's side six decades ago, ate a burger a day. "No health problems at all," he said. "Except for my hearing, which didn't have anything to do with hamburgers." He can still hear well enough to know when the cash register is ringing, but lately it has been quiet. The most seasoned customers got too old to drive or passed away. When jobs started disappearing a few years ago, middle-aged customers spent their money elsewhere. Younger customers seem to prefer the fast-food chains. A downtown construction project that resulted in closed streets was the final blow. On Saturday afternoon, Tommy flipped the last burger onto the last bun. His daughter carried the last plate to Casey Hamilton, who looked down at his prize with delight and sadness. An Alachua County sheriff's deputy, he began eating Louis burgers when he was a boy four decades ago. "My mom would bring me here after doctors' appointments as a reward for when I didn't cry," he said. He took a big bite, and then another, until the last Louis burger was gone. Jeff Klinkenberg can be reached at kl...@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8727. http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/after-82-years-gainesvill e-burger-joint-is-gone-with-a-gulp/1131598 -- Helen Huntley (727) 823-3801 www.helenhuntley.com -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -- GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions 2008 National Football Champions | Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
