S & C diner Highland Park

**jgavrile** · September-08-09, 09:47 PM

Does anyone have any pictures of the S & C [[Sutton & Clemens)diner that used to be in Highland Park, South of Davison. It sat sort of to the side of the YMCA on Woodward.
Pretty great place for food back in the 50's and 60's.
They had some great hash browns and American fries there.
One time, it was in Life magazine for some feature they were doing. Can't remember the year that they had the article in Life?
We all use to call it the "streetcar" but I don't think it was really a streetcar. just one of those comercial diners that was made to look like a railroad/streetcar back in the 30's 40's?? Lot of them out in New Jersey.

**softailrider** · September-08-09, 10:25 PM

Not sure about the Highland Park location, I don't remember it. There was an S&C on 6 Mile just west of Sorrento, went out of business about 25 years ago, I heard the owner got into trouble with the IRS. The building still stands, it became a soul food place for a short while. I remember it had very good diner type food, friendly type of a place.

**ThunderTrap** · December-19-15, 06:16 AM

Originally Posted by softailrider

Not sure about the Highland Park location, I don't remember it. There was an S&C on 6 Mile just west of Sorrento, went out of business about 25 years ago, I heard the owner got into trouble with the IRS. The building still stands, it became a soul food place for a short while. I remember it had very good diner type food, friendly type of a place.

"In trouble with the IRS" = euphemism for an overpaid political hack abusing his authority by thinking that he is God and wishes to ruin someone else's life, hoping that they will commit suicide

**douglasm** · September-09-09, 06:10 PM

I'm trying for the life of me to remember it. The YMCA was just north [[across the street) from the YWCA, wasn't it?

**Detroitgayhistoryguy** · September-09-09, 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by jgavrile

Does anyone have any pictures of the S & C [[Sutton & Clemens)diner that used to be in Highland Park, South of Davison. It sat sort of to the side of the YMCA on Woodward.
Pretty great place for food back in the 50's and 60's.
They had some great hash browns and American fries there.
One time, it was in Life magazine for some feature they were doing. Can't remember the year that they had the article in Life?
We all use to call it the "streetcar" but I don't think it was really a streetcar. just one of those comercial diners that was made to look like a railroad/streetcar back in the 30's 40's?? Lot of them out in New Jersey.

I think your right see this webpage http://www.nydiners.com/Wagoneer2003.html which mentions S&C having "Dining cars"

**jgavrile** · September-09-09, 11:48 PM

The S & C in Highland Park was indeed just to the North of the YMCA which is between Beresford and Winona ave. I don't remember when the diner closed, but it was there for many years. Sutton and Clemens [[S & C), had regular restaraunt also on Woodward between 6 mile and 7 mile called Jerry's. Like I mentioned above, there was an article in Life magazine about the diner back in the late 60's or early 70's. I sure wish I could find that issue so I could see a picture of the diner again.

**Lowell** · September-10-09, 12:19 AM

It was easy for me to remember that diner because, in its last days, well, its name was Lowell's. This was early 70's. Then one day it was gone. I don't know if it was moved or demolished.

The YMCA next door, where I played handball for several winters, tried to acquire the lot for a parking lot as it was having issues with member car thefts. But the price was too high so they had to settle for a lot in the back, across the alley. The S&C lot remains vacant today.

Just north of it, across the street, was another restaurant, which later became a strip joint under the name of Fancy Pants when Blackwell open HP up to the trade. It was the site of the internationally infamous 1982 Vincent Chin murder.

Chin, a Chinese-American man, was celebrating his bachelor party at the Fancy Pants when a couple of Euro-American customers started insulting him for taking away jobs, seemingly mistaking him for Japanese. [This was in the depths of the 80's recession where unemployment was even higher than now and when Japanese autos where making serious inroads into the US car market.] Chin was later pursued outside the bar and beaten to death with a baseball bat. The assailants were acquitted and never did prison time, creating a huge outrage.

**douglasm** · September-10-09, 06:12 AM

Lowell......
.....memory refresh time. Was I correct in saying the WMCA was just north of the YWCA, which was just north of Trinity Methodist Church?

**Jman** · September-10-09, 06:31 AM

douglasm, you are correct. Trinity Methodist Church on the corner of E. Buena Vista, next building north was the YWCA on the s.e. corner of Winona. YMCA was on the n.e. corner of Winona and Woodward.

I lived across the street from the S & C a favorite place for my Dad and I. There was also a S & C on Fort St. directly across from the Fort Shelby Hotel.

**EastsideAl** · September-10-09, 08:49 AM

Wasn't there also an S&C over on Grand River by Scripps Park? I think that's the only one I ever remember actually eating in, with my great uncle and aunt who lived over there on Commonwealth.

**vetalalumni** · September-10-09, 10:24 AM

It is interesting to read this informal historical information.

**WDETalum** · April-06-10, 05:43 PM

I have the Life magazine April 30, 1971 issue which has the picture. The caption includes comments by the owner Lowell Knapp. Google books has scanned this issue of Life and you can find it if you Google "Lowell Knapp S&C" and go down to the books.google.com link.

I frequently went to the S&C at Wayne State University on Warren Ave. at Woodward. Wish I could still get their Sunshine Burger. The other locations were:

S & C RESTAURANT SYSTEM

Office 13236 Woodward
No 1 6521 2nd
No 2 2621 Park
No 4 44 W Warren
No 6 13101 W McNichols
No 7 508 W Lafayette
No 10 255 W 9 Mi Ferndale
No 11 19180 Livernois

**pgn421** · April-06-10, 06:31 PM

has anyone been to Red Hots Coney Island, on Victor off of Woodward?it's the oldest Coney Island in Michigan.

**Silver_fox** · February-21-13, 09:59 AM

My father worked for S & C for 15 years as head maintenance man and he knew all the restaurants. Here are a few more to add to the list:

No 3 at Joy Rd and Grand River
No 8 in Royal Oak by the bus station
No 9 at Jefferson and Lillybridge
No 12 at Savannah and Woodward called the Palmer House. This was torn down and replace by Jeri's, also owned by S & C.

The main office diner car was called No 5. Co-located here was the butcher shop for all the restaurants. Meat cuts and hamburger meat were delivered to all the locations each night. Half a block from the main office was the S & C bakery where all the bake goods and pies were delivered to all locations each night at 4 am.

**Jman** · February-21-13, 03:30 PM

Originally Posted by Silver_fox

My father worked for S & C for 15 years as head maintenance man and he knew all the restaurants. Here are a few more

The main office diner car was called No 5. Co-located here was the butcher shop for all the restaurants. Meat cuts and hamburger meat were delivered to all the locations each night. Half a block from the main office was the S & C bakery where all the bake goods and pies were delivered to all locations each night at 4 am.

Where was the Main Office #5 located?

**jgavrile** · April-06-10, 08:30 PM

Thanks guys, I have been trying to find a picture for years now. My Dad owned the Atlas Bar, he sold it back in the 70's. That became "Fancy Pants" . ,the site of the 1982 Vincent Chin murder..
I spent many hours as a kid at the S & C diner. They had the best American fries anywhere.
As to Red Hots, on Victor, Richard the owner, who inherited the coney Island from his uncle, will tell you it is the oldest coney island in Michigan.My Father used to tell me that also, as he was good friends with the original owner.

**cman710** · April-06-10, 09:53 PM

This is the link for the scan from Google Books, which has two pictures.

**Lowell** · April-06-10, 10:16 PM

WDETalum thanks so much! You hit it out of park with your first post. Welcome to the forum.

I wonder which diner is pictured. It can't see how it could be the Highland Park site with those houses so close. It was close to Woodward sqeezed next to the YMCA with a long lot and alley behind.

I am also intrigued about the 44 W Warren site which would place it at the west end of the present day WSU welcome center.

I guess your findings explain why the HP site was named Lowell's in it's final days.

**jgavrile** · April-07-10, 12:03 AM

Right next to the diner in Highland Park was a Dry cleaners called Swiss Cleaners. It would have been on the corner of Beresford and Woodward. Behind the cleaners was a two story residence that you can see in the picture of the diner. The diner was sitting at an angle between this cleaners and the YMCA. Pretty small piece of property that it was on.

**Fury13** · April-07-10, 08:48 AM

Were all of the S&C diners of the classic, steel, dining car type? Detroit has none of those left now. It would be great if someone imported one from Jersey and set it up for business near the Wayne State campus!

**Jman** · April-07-10, 10:01 AM

Originally Posted by Fury13

Were all of the S&C diners of the classic, steel, dining car type? Detroit has none of those left now. It would be great if someone imported one from Jersey and set it up for business near the Wayne State campus!

The S&C at 19180 Livernois was in a row of store fronts. Not the classic diner type.

**softailrider** · April-07-10, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by Fury13

Were all of the S&C diners of the classic, steel, dining car type? Detroit has none of those left now. It would be great if someone imported one from Jersey and set it up for business near the Wayne State campus!

S&C on 6 Mile near Sorrento was a corner storefront, building still stands today. As far as I know that was the only S&C still operating when I was going there in the 70's.

**jgavrile** · April-07-10, 09:05 AM

Closest thing that I know of to having any diners in the area is the Athens Coney Island on Woodward near 14 mile and Don's of Traverse City on Grand River near Wixom road.

**Lowell** · April-07-10, 10:00 AM

Thanks jgavrile. That makes sense. By the time I first saw it, early seventies, the house in back was gone. Also when i went back to the link above I found I could magnify it and found both the name I remember and the Woodward address.

I also remember the NE corner of Woodward and Beresford being a restaurant at that time too [and prior to the Fancy Pants]. Would that have been the same space as the Atlas Bar?