Thursday, December 2, 2010
Lost Memphis Burkle's Bakery
Posted by Vance Lauderdale on Thu, Dec 2, 2010 at 11:21 AM
Herman Jr. and his sister, Ruth Lee (shown here), took over the business in the 1950s. They added "restaurant" to the name, and 2125 Madison Avenue soon became a Memphis institution — a breakfast, lunch, and gathering place for everyone from bankers grabbing a cup of coffee on the way to the office to scruffy art students munching bearclaws after class.
"Burkle's never tried to expand, to spice its menu with exotic dishes, or to move to a more populous or affluent neighborhood," noted the Memphis Press-Scimitar. "It was satisfied to offer well-prepared bakery foods, meats, and vegetables without costly frills. And that is what has satisfied its customers, whether they are family groups or young people from the surrounding Overton Square."
Burkle's remains one of our favorite memories from the early days of Overton Square, yet it was Memphis' first "entertainment district" that played a role in its closing in 1976. While the owners of the Square told reporters that "it is operations like Burkle's that lend the atmosphere and nature of what we have here," those same owners allegedly doubled the rent the little bakery was paying them.
When Ruth wanted to retire, Herman decided he couldn't run the place without her. "It's just too much for one man," he said. "Too complicated." On July 6, 1976, the bakery's last day, members of the Memphis City Council donned white aprons and served free coffee and donuts to more than 1,000 people who came by to bid the old place goodbye. The Press-Scimitar called it "a regrettable ending. Other restaurants may replace it, but Burkle's will be remembered with fondness. And maybe a lick of the lips."
Although a string of other eateries and clubs moved into the space — does anybody remember Fabian's, Le Cafe du Louvre, and Studebakers? — Burkle's former location (along with everything else on that corner) is empty today.
PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS LIBRARIES
Comments (9)
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WKNO is doing a documentary about the Square, seems like a lot of the problems were down to greedy property management? I had forgotten Studebakers!
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Check out this link for Overton Square Memories... Who remembers Poets and Dick Tracy the bar with the bars?
http://memphismemories.org/Areas/Midtown/M…
I loved Burkle's Bakery. My grandmother lived on Cooper just around the corner from the bakery. We would go there on Sundays and buy different things, but the item I loved the most was their salt rising bread. I have never had any that was as good as theirs. This was truly a loss to the city when this institution closed.
I loved Burkle's and remember Ruth Lee and Mr. Burkle fondly. Frequently a date and I would stop in at Burkle's after an evening at the original Playhouse on the Square, order beignets and coffee, and be served by the actors and actresses we had just seen on stage!
Thanks for posting this picture. Ruth and her son Phillip use to live across the street from me. Loved Burkle's Bakery, especially when Miss Ruth would bring some home:):) And I do remember Studabakers. Fun, fun place. I miss the way the Square use to be. When Friday's left, it was kinda all over.
I sooo loved Overton Square back in the day! I still go to Maggie's Pharm and when I leave, I always make sure to drive down Madison and reminisce!! Oh Lord, I hope they bring it back to life! :)
Before Friday's was in that space around the corner (before there was even an Overton Square) there was a tiny bar called Perception, maybe 1968ish, probably the first/only hippie place in the city. Moloch played there once, the cops would bust the place for the hell of it, no problem parking, there was no one around that dark area at night!
Lee Baker, Sid Selvidge, Crossway, Randyl Lyons, Gimmer and the rest of Molock, later Mudboy and the Neutrons along with the beautiful dancers, Maggie Foote, Nancy Jaine, Marshia, Tommy Lou, and Cil, could often be found at Perception at night and at Burkle's for breakfast.
Perception got slowed to make room for the first TGI Friday's franchise. The one with John McIntyre cast brass door handles.
Damn, this used to be a great town.
