While conducting research on Mrs. Milton's Bake Shop at 161 Suffolk Street, I came across advertisements for a neighboring business, Jack August's Seafood Restaurant, surprisingly. I knew this to be a long-established business at the corner of 5 Bridge and Hawley Streets in Northampton, but I hadn't known of its Holyoke location. Here's the story of Holyoke's Jack August's years.
First, here's some background. Jack August started out as a fish delivery operation in Northampton. As demand grew, the truck was replaced when he opened a small fish market. That evolved into a move to larger quarters where cooked fish would be served to seated customers or available for take-out. From three booths, the restaurant was expanded to accommodate 70 seats.
Jack August's seafood restaurant opened in Northampton in 1935. Jack August was a native of Northampton, and his spouse, Eva V. (Feinstein) August, was a Holyoke native who had lived on Pleasant Street. When the Holyoke restaurant opened on July 7, 1948, her parents continued to live in Holyoke.
Their Holyoke restaurant was located at 165 Suffolk Street at the northeast corner of Pine Street. The building was initially occupied by Roosevelt's Auto Electric Shop in 1925, and was the longtime home of Willard's Battery Service Station, as well as later Clary's Battery Station, until 1949.
In 1949, the Augusts began advertising the sale of homemade clam chowder from their restaurant. This proved successful, and canned clam chowder was available in several Holyoke and South Hadley markets. One of the restaurant's first managers was David Fogel, the son-in-law of Jack and Eva August, who went on to pursue a career in accounting and law, later becoming one of Northampton's prominent tax practitioners.
On February 4, 1954, the restaurant business was sold to James J. Gannon from West Springfield. The business name was changed to Gannon's Sea Foods. The restaurant building was not part of the sale, as it was owned by William Sondej, who operated Mrs. Milton's Bake Shop, located next door on Suffolk Street.
Another transition occurred in 1956 or 1957, when John R. Packard purchased the business and retained the Gannon's Sea Foods name. In May 1957, fire damaged the building. An application for a liquor store license was pending at the time.
By October 1957, Conway's Package Store had opened and remained at this location through 1989, when it was sold and became One Stop Liquor & Convenience Store.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Assessors' Office, Holyoke, Massachusetts
Price and Lee, Holyoke (Massachusetts) City Directories.
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