Berry's Restaurant

Berry's Restaurant Zeb and Betty Berry's Restaurant from 1954 to mid-1965

01/10/2023

Judging by the cars parked in front, this post card was made for Berry's Restaurant no earlier than 1959 and probably around 1960. The light green Chevrolet Impala station wagon at the bottom in the center, with the cat-eye tail lights, is a 1959, since that is the only year that the Impala had that style of tail light. The other cars are all mid to late 1950's models.

A newspaper ad in The Charlotte News (Charlotte, North Carolina) published 02 Jun 1959. With thanks to John Berry, Zeb ...
01/17/2020

A newspaper ad in The Charlotte News (Charlotte, North Carolina) published 02 Jun 1959. With thanks to John Berry, Zeb Berry’s youngest nephew, for spotting this ad.

Mom and Dad used to say that one of their most popular menu items at Berry's Restaurant was the coffee. That's because ...
02/19/2017

Mom and Dad used to say that one of their most popular menu items at Berry's Restaurant was the coffee. That's because they constantly brewed the coffee in small batches, and they used two brands--Maxwell House, and Yuban. At the home of my sister Ellen Phillips, you're likely to be served with Maxwell, but I like Yuban, because the beans are roasted here in California. Over the years, my parents started their day with a cup of hot joe--I can see them now, savoring the morning with the day's newspaper and a hot cup of coffee: Dad liked his black, while Momma took hers with condensed milk. Occasionally they were joined by our neighbor, Mr. Fogle. It was their daily ritual, one that I follow too. Whether it's Yuban, or Maxwell House, the taste of that coffee takes me back to those cozy mornings with my parents in Orangeburg, and sometimes back to the 1950's and early 60's, to that restaurant on Kings Highway at 17th Avenue South in Myrtle Beach.

03/15/2016

More history from Berry's Restaurant, which was sold by 1964, but apparently there was an effort to sell the business several years earlier--that's according to this want ad, published November 20th, 1960, in the Sunday Gazette-Mail, of Charleston, West Virginia, on pg 63.

"PJ_ 5-4234 BUSINESS Opportunity -- Myrtle Beach, S. C. Berry's Restaurant on U. S. Highway )7_, near Myrtle Beach Air Base. Seats "40 in three dining rooms. Enjoying good patronage with gross of $70,000.00 annually. For quick sale at $23,500.00. Further Information contact Hughes-Beall, Realtors, Myrtle Beach"

Following the sale of Berry's Restaurant in 1964, my dad briefly opened up a fancy place called the "Torch Club." This...
03/15/2016

Following the sale of Berry's Restaurant in 1964, my dad briefly opened up a fancy place called the "Torch Club." This place was located toward Crescent Beach and was in business for only two years, but according to Dad, the Torch Club was quite a storied place--valets, doormen, a live band, coat-and-tie--and it was a favorite haunt of Sam Houston Johnson, LBJ's younger brother-- This business card may be all that is left, after the Torch Club was shuttered in 1966.

And now a mystery from the growing trove of Berry's Restaurant of Myrtle Beach--in the form of a restaurant matchbook. ...
03/09/2016

And now a mystery from the growing trove of Berry's Restaurant of Myrtle Beach--in the form of a restaurant matchbook. As far as I know, nearly every restaurant even to this day provides free matchbooks to their customers as a form of marketing. I found this one on e-bay, but when it arrived I noticed immediately that it contains a contradiction. Note the 4 digit phone number on the cover--AT&T began converting phone numbers to a 6 and 7 digit system in large metropolitan areas beginning 1955, but nationally the conversion wasn't uniform, so I don't know exactly when Myrtle Beach (or the rest of South Carolina) converted to 7 digits. In any case its an indication that this match book could date as far back as 1954, the earliest period of Berry's Restaurant. But something on the cover contradicts this. See the slogan "Good Food Served Right"? It is thermographically printed. Thermography is where the print is heated or "cured" after the printing, which causes a special ink to bubble up and create a raised, textured surface. Thermography is expensive. Most restaurants fail after their first year, often because they can't control the costs of their overhead. Dad always said that one reason Berry's was a success was because he zealously kept the overhead to a minimum---second hand pots and pans and kitchen hardware, etc. So the choice of thermography on early period matchbook marketing is a surprise--or an indication of early success. Any thoughts?

Here's an interesting artifact from the Berry's Restaurant time capsule....Cousin John sent an original menu that his da...
12/14/2015

Here's an interesting artifact from the Berry's Restaurant time capsule....Cousin John sent an original menu that his dad, Uncle Wess, had saved from long ago. This treasure is over fifty years old! My scanner is too small to get it all in one pass, so I pieced this together from multiple scans. The artwork on the cover is especially intriguing, because it has a stylistic resemblance to something that either my brother Butch or my mom would have drawn. Also note the names flanking the phrase "operated by" on the cover---Z.V.Berry, and F.A. Gruber. Uncle Frank and Aunt Eloise, (Barbara Savino take note) were for a time business partners in the restaurant, which likely places this menu in the mid 1950's. Dad, (Zeb Berry, Sr.) ultimately bought the Gruber's share of the business. Do check out the low prices, and don't forget to try the delicious large frog legs--a little pricey compared to everything else, but Berry's amphibians were the best in town! (Well, okay, I never had them myself, but I'm sure they wouldn't be on the menu if they weren't just plain good).

Here's a new photo of the Berry's Restaurant sign, courtesy of Zane Morgan.
12/14/2015

Here's a new photo of the Berry's Restaurant sign, courtesy of Zane Morgan.

A Tale of Two Restaurants-- Some time before Berry's Restaurant opened on the south side of Myrtle Beach, a great restau...
03/27/2015

A Tale of Two Restaurants-- Some time before Berry's Restaurant opened on the south side of Myrtle Beach, a great restaurant already existed for some years in our family--the famous Zane's Grill in what is now North Myrtle Beach. Owned and operated by my dad's sister and brother-in-law, Zane and Lucille Morgan, Zane's Grill was a veritable Ground Zero for the best barbecue on the Eastern Seaboard. For those gourmands with the most discriminating barbeque palates, a pilgrimage to Zane's Grill was rewarded with the unique, savory nirvana of a secret family recipe handed down through the ages. My cousin, "Little Zane" once shared that secret sauce recipe with me. On many occasions my dad told me that Zane's Grill provided the model and inspiration for Berry's Restaurant. And even though the two restaurants did not compete with each other per se, I think there must have been a playful air of rivalry. Perhaps some of my cousins can opine...

Okay, it was never Zagat rated, but I like the slogan on Dad's business card---"Dinners are Delightful, Here! Food for ...
02/25/2015

Okay, it was never Zagat rated, but I like the slogan on Dad's business card---"Dinners are Delightful, Here! Food for Particular People. Local seafood and U.S. Choice steaks---Z. V. Berry."

The Man in Black, Zeb Vance Berry, Sr., at the soda bar inside the restaurant, circa 1957....this image is from the same...
02/25/2015

The Man in Black, Zeb Vance Berry, Sr., at the soda bar inside the restaurant, circa 1957....this image is from the same set of images the photo below is made from. The photographer can be seen in the mirror in this photo. Both photos heavily repaired in photoshop...

Address

17th Avenue South King'S Highway
Myrtle Beach, SC
29577

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