Local history: O’Neil’s Oak Grille was popular dining spot in Akron

It’s been gone longer than it was here.

The Oak Grille at O’Neil’s department store was a popular place to dine during shopping trips to downtown Akron.

The casual restaurant offered good food and friendly service. Customers crowded U-shaped counters while waitresses in brown-and-white uniforms took orders and delivered meals.

O’Neil’s touted it as “the most convenient lunch spot in town,” even though the eatery also served breakfast and dinner.

The grill opened Sept. 13, 1947, on the State Street level of the six-story building at 226 S. Main St. It arrived six months after the debut of the Georgian Room, an elegant restaurant on the second floor of O’Neil’s at the top of the escalator from the mezzanine.

The Georgian Room, decorated in soft tones of yellow and gray, was billed as “Akron’s loveliest dining room,” and offered such upscale fare as lobster salad, beef tenderloin and red salmon steak.

The Oak Grille, located behind the men’s department, was less expensive and more relaxed. As its opening day special, it served chilled tomato juice, chicken a la king on Holland rusk, buttered fresh peas and carrots, a molded fruit salad, a hot roll and butter, a chocolate sundae and coffee. The entire meal cost a whopping 75 cents (about $10.50 today when adjusted for inflation).

“You’ll agree that it’s the most comfortable place to lunch … brightly lighted counters serve more than 150 people,” O’Neil’s advertised. “You’ll like the modern blond oak and maroon decorations. You can eat a full luncheon or quick snack in air-conditioned comfort.”

As an added incentive, O’Neil’s invited the public to “see yourself on television.” The store had set up a TV camera to demonstrate the miracle of electronic engineering in an era when only 250,000 TV sets existed across the country.

People have been eating food and watching TV ever since in Akron.

The grill was open from 9 to 10:30 a.m. for breakfast, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch, 3 to 5 p.m. for fountain service and 5 to 8 p.m. for dinner. It was a nice place to take a breather from shopping and a central location to meet up with friends, relatives and co-workers.

Customers sat elbow to elbow as a squadron of waitresses — women with such names as Alice, Beatrice, Betty, Connie, Florence, Freda, Janet, Lena, Martha, Michelle and Norma — maneuvered around the U-shaped counters.

Patrons could order anything they wished: a tuna sandwich … a bowl of soup … a chef’s salad … a slice of cherry pie … a hot cup of coffee ...

White-clad cooks slathered homemade gravy on everything from Salisbury steak to roast ham to breaded turkey to pork tenderloin to fried chicken to roast beef to chop steak.

And talk about variety. Check out these Oak Grille specials over the decades:

• Baked chicken pot pie with potatoes and vegetables covered with flaky pastry crust, fancy apricot and Chinese cabbage salad, rolls and butter, ice cream or sherbet with cookies, coffee. (70 cents in 1948)

• Baked beef tenderloin loaf with fresh mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, dried rutabagas, roll and butter, coffee. (60 cents in 1949)

• Breaded veal steakette served with Italian spaghetti in spicy tomato sauce, roll and butter, deep-dish apple pie. (85 cents in 1958)

• Southern fried chicken with baked egg noodles and chicken gravy, roll and butter, preserved citrus fruit peel, frozen brandied peach sundae, coffee. (97 cents in 1959)

• Roast fresh ham with dressing and pan gravy, mashed potatoes, stewed eggplant and tomatoes, roll and butter, deep-dish apple pie, coffee. (97 cents in 1964)

• Golden brown chicken croquettes, fricassee gravy, whipped potatoes, buttered carrots, roll and butter, coffee, sherbet. (90 cents in 1966)

• Pigs in blankets, baked in sauerkraut and served with whipped potatoes, buttered carrots, roll and butter, coffee, tea or Pepsi. ($1.29 in 1973).

By the late 1970s, there were seven places to eat at the downtown O’Neil’s store: the Georgian Room, the Oak Grille, Pronto, Michael’s Cafe, the Yogurt Patch, the Burgerette and the Grotto.

One topic of conversation among diners was the rumor that O’Neil’s might close its downtown store just as across-the-street rival Polsky’s had done in 1978. O’Neil’s executives said the rumor was “totally unfounded,” and pointed out that the company had spent $1.2 million on improvements, including the remodeling of the Oak Grille.

In a 1979 letter to employees, O’Neil’s President Joseph S. David and Chairman Clarence A. Randall wrote: “It would be nothing short of mismanagement for O’Neil’s to contemplate closing a store in which its investment is so great.”

The Oak Grille closed five years later.

In an attempt to become more profitable, store officials decided to consolidate the sales areas on the first three floors and remodel the upper floors to lease as office space.

“The lessening of space meant we had to combine some of our operations,” Randall explained in 1984.

O’Neil’s announced it would convert the Oak Grille into a merchandise area for women’s apparel.

“It’s like an institution,” Randall said. “We’re kind of sad about it. But everything changes.”

After 37 years of business, the restaurant’s last day was May 29, 1984. Beacon Journal reporter Charlene Nevada interviewed customers as they crowded the counters for one final meal.

“I eat here every day,” Mayflower Manor resident John Rousch, 80, lamented. “Now I’m going to have to cook for myself.”

“I always stop here for my coffee when I’m downtown,” Goodyear Heights resident Margaret Campbell, 84, explained. “It’s something I always look forward to.”

“I come here about every other day,” Summit County Common Pleas Judge Evan J. Reed, 74, said. “This place is quick and handy.”

Waitresses poured the last cups of coffee. Customers finished the last few bites. Dishwashers cleaned gravy from the last plates.

The sign “GRILLE CLOSED” went up at the entrance.

In the weeks to come, the U-shaped counters were dismantled and the restaurant was gutted to make room for women’s clothing.

Customer Jane Dempsey, a Clinton resident, spoke for many when she wrote: “If O’Neil’s downtown store was really interested in bringing more business downtown, why did it take out one of the best features it had going — the Oak Grille?

“I now go downtown to shop less. If I do, I look elsewhere for a reasonably priced place to have lunch.”

In December 1988, O’Neil’s parent company, May Department Stores of St. Louis, announced that it would shutter the downtown Akron store, which was losing $1 million a year. Nearly 500 employees got the news right before Christmas.

The eight remaining O’Neil’s stores in Northeast Ohio would rebrand as the May Co., bringing an end to O’Neil’s after 111 years in Akron.

“It will become a larger organization,” said James Abrams, vice president of corporate affairs. “The O’Neil’s name has a rich history attached to it. It has a strong identity in the community. We understand and appreciate that. But we think customers will respond favorably to the change.”

The downtown O’Neil’s closed Jan. 27, 1989 — a week after the Georgian Room served its final meals and joined the Oak Grille among Akron’s fond memories.

Mark J. Price can be reached at mprice@thebeaconjournal.com

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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: O’Neil’s Oak Grille was a favorite dining spot in downtown Akron