Thursday, December 10, 2015

The Spot to Eat!

Spot Miller and the original building
In downtown Sidney, just across from the county courthouse, there is a white building with colorful signage. This is the famous Spot, with some of the best pie in Ohio. If you go in, it's like walking back into time. The decorations, down to the red vinyl seats and the black and white tile on the floor transport you to the 1950s. There are signs on the walls, with advertisements of days gone by, when you could get a milkshake for a quarter. Pictures align the wall of the various celebrities that have visited the eatery during its lifetime, including then-president George W. Bush.

It's obvious that the restaurant has a lot of history. But what is that history exactly?

The Spot was founded in 1907. A man named Spot Miller had been selling food from a cart. This was against city ordinances at the time, which banned the sale of food from impermanent structures. His solution was to remove the wheels from his chuckwagon, thus creating a "permanent" structure.

The restaurant would pass through many hands over the 100+ years it has been in operation. A more permanent structure was built on the original location, eventually becoming the building it is today. There was a short-lived chain of restaurants that existed throughout the region, in places such as Piqua, Bellefontaine, and Lima. None of these other locations have survived. The Sidney location, in addition to being the first location, is the only one that is currently in operation.

Pres. Bush appreciating a pecan pie. Pies are a specialty of the eatery.
For 108 years, the Spot has provided delicious hamburgers and milkshakes tot he families of Sidney, Ohio. Though we can no longer enjoy hamburgers for $1.00, the fact that the restaurant is still around keeps a tenuous thread to the towns history. We can sit at the same spot as our ancestors, and enjoy a very similar menu. The Spot has become the most delicious part of Sidney's heritage.



source: http://www.thespottoeat.com/history.html

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