The Raymond Cafe

Bandy's Cafe in the early 1930's. Pictured (from left) Anna Bandy, Pauline Bandy Hinkley, Elsie (Burley) Pitchford, and an unidentified person. 

I mentioned Bandy's Cafe a couple of weeks ago. My grandparents, Charles and Anna Bandy, opened the cafe in 1929 in a brick building on Main Street where the current Raymond-Harvel Fire Department and Ambulance building is located. The Bandy family lived in an apartment directly above the restaurant, and grandma was downstairs making pies every morning by 4:00 a.m.

Back then, the restaurant served three meals a day, six and a half days a week (they closed on Sunday after lunch). The cafe was always open after ballgames and other activities, and it was a popular gathering spot for the high school crowd, as well as adults. Hamburgers sold for 10 cents, plate lunches for 35 cents, and a complete dinner cost 45 cents. Customers could get a piece of homemade pie and a cup of coffee for 15 cents. There was a nickelodeon, and for 5 cents, customers could hear their favorite songs. There was a short wave radio, and for the Illinois State Police (who rode motorcycles), the restaurant was a warm place to gather and listen for police calls.

A crowd of young people went to the restaurant on Saturday nights to listen to the Philip Morris Hit Parade on the radio, and find out which of their favorite songs topped the list for that week. Many people were employed at the cafe during those years including (my aunt) Pauline Bandy Hinkley, Lela Hudson, Beulah (Fortin) Lowe, Loretta Lessman, Elsie Pitchford, Helen Luking, Merrill Foster, Geraldine Hendricks, and Georgia (Halford) Plappert.

In 1943, grandma sold the restaurant and it became known as the Raymond Cafe. Some of the people who owned it through the years included: Harry Garard, Eleanor Miller, Loretta Lessman, Claude Carlock, Leon Martin, members of the Vickery family, June Funderburk, and Vi Heisman.

Dad talked frequently about the restaurant days, and how a lot of hard work and "elbow grease" were required to make a living there, especially during the Depression. He often commented that although they didn't have money or any luxuries during those years, the family never had to worry about having food on the table.  

When I was in afternoon Kindergarten, occasionally mom would take over at the Variety Store while dad and I walked to the cafe to enjoy a hamburger and a "Bubble-Up" before I went to school. I always looked up to see the words, BANDY'S CAFE, that had been painted across the top of the building in the 30's. The large, white letters were still visible when the building was demolished sometime around the turn of the century.

Many thanks to Susan Lebeck for providing this week's photo.