The Oriental Restaurant **HALL OF FAME EATERY**

Both shots above from the W. Trade St. location - 1960 

Independence Blvd location - 1968

Above 3 shots all from the mid-70's (all courtesy of Ronnie Yee)

1950's ashtray

1977 menu

1948 ad

1951 ad

1954 ad

1958 ad

1966 ad

The Oriental Restaurant opened at 126 W. Trade St in 1923. It would prove to be one of Charlotte's most famous and popular Chinese restaurants. It would also be one of Charlotte's longest running eateries -- staying in business for a span of seven decades. The Oriental was noted for its private booths, almond cookies, and a walking bridge over the indoor Koi pond. In 1967, the restaurant moved to E Independence Blvd (at Morningside Dr) after a fire destroyed the original location. It would flourish through the '80's before closing for good. 

The Open Kitchen - Pt II

From the Open Kitchen's webpage comes this great painting of a nighttime shot of the restaurant with downtown Charlotte in the distance. Click here for the original blog post. 

As always, click on the photo for a larger version...

Spoon's Ice Cream Parlor

Great mid-70's shot

Elizabeth Spoon a.k.a. "The Ice Cream Lady"

Spoon's opened on Hawthorne Lane in 1929 and was owned by Whitney and Elizabeth Spoon. Elizabeth earned the nickname "The Ice Cream Lady" from the generations of families that flocked to Spoon's for all of her homemade flavors. The Spoons would sell the business in 1978 and food was added to the menu. Ice cream was still served but not from Elizabeth's famous recipes. The standing building is all that currently remains of the Spoon's legacy and ice cream.