Anyone remember a burger joint named Lou's near Colchester,Ct. that we used to stop at no the way to Connecticut Dragway? I know there's Harry's Drive-in but don't think it's that because I remember you could sit inside Lou's, sort of like a diner setup. Harry'd doesn't look like you can eat inside (?) at least from the photos. Lou also had a son or grandson,Billy who worked there . At least that's how my old memory recalls it. Please correct me if it was in another town. Thanks for any info.
is it a small little joint on the corner of the 2 different routes (one goes to salem). It's currently a diner serving breakfast and lunch. Its super tiny. Harrys is not a dine-in. You stand outside and order and eat. Was it in one of the small eateries in the old colchester center of town buildings or was it in a building of its own? the only other place i can think of was the old diner heading towards salem...its really tiny. It's name is escaping me right now
Hi Farmergal. it could be that one. I don't remember if it was at the intersection of two routes. It was a tiny little joint, oh, yes, it also had apinball machine we would play, Great burgers too. Is Salem on the way to the track? We used to come from Boston.
It's called Herman's place at the junction of RT's 85 and 354 Yes. you would go through Salem to get to Colchester from Boston
If you got off route 2 coming from Boston then the Herman's place could've been Lou's. I know someone who used to work near Herman's a long time ago, i will have to ask him. Herman's has been own and run by the same lady for awhile but if you're talkingback to the 60's than it very well could've been Lou's.
Hmm, possible. We used to come down rte. 6 usually to 16, but i remember once following a dragster and he took ashortcut rd. to the track but that was when we were close to it. We used to stop st Lou's just about every week. That would be could if you could ask your friend.Thanks.
The dragway is located in East Haddam, close to the Colchester town line. If you took 16 the you would be coming through Lebanon, CT to the town green and center of Colchester. If you took a right in the center of town Harry's Place would be right up the street on the right on Broadway Street. If you took a left in the center of town (rt 85) and continued down about a mile you would come to a fork. rt. 354 would be to your left and route 85 would continue to your right. Herman's place is right there on the left hand side at the fork on rt. 85 Now in order to get to the CT Dragway you would would have to head to East Haddam. If you're coming from lebanon on 16 to the centerof Colchester, you would head straight across and continue on route 16 towards east haddam (this is how we go since we have family that live in East Haddam). You could take a "shortcut" buckley hill road which is the 2nd left hand turn after coming out of the center of colchester. You would then tak that to O'Connel road which would go to the dragway. Its a pretty straightforward route to the strip other than taking the next few left hand turns which would mean many more turns and more confusing directions. let me know if any of this rings a bell
route 16 is the mainr oute you wouldve had to turn left off of to take a backroad to get to the drag way. Which means its unlikely that you took it all the way through lebanon, ct considering you were coming from boston. If you exited off of route 2 at exit 20 it wouldve put you on 354. you wouldve taken that to the fork where 354 meets 85. Hermans is right there at the fork on 85.
Yes, I remember it actually being in East Haddam.Taking the exit off Rte. 2 sounds more reasonable, as remembering Norwich too. We usually took Buckley Hill Rd. in so the shortcut thing could have only been once maybe. I remember going back in the 80's with myself , wife and son but the race was rained out.Just so happens there was a parade that day, so we stayed and watched it in the center. I went back after that when the track had closed. Be funny if Herman's was the same place but maybe?
Hi Farmergal Went on Google maps to 85 &354. street view puts you on 354 at the fork with 85 coming in on the left. I went down 354 s little bit and saw a small white building all by itself. If it is Herman's it also sure does look like the old Lou's. I couldn't cut and paste the picture, but it's there on google maps. maybe my mind wants to think it's Lou's lol, but it does look like it.
Hi Farmergirl, Forgot to mention when i went on to google maps and got the street view, i had to turn picture 180 degrees and that put me facing 85 coming into 354.That's when I went up a little bit on 354 and saw the tiny white building on the left.
Farmergal, Sorry, meant to say to type in ' s. main st. & rte 354,Colchester,Ct.' then hit 'street view' and rotate the picture 180 degrees, you'll see s. main st. coming in at you on the left . I stayed to the right and moved the mouse up rte. 354 and that's when i saw the little white building on the left. Hope it helps. Thanks.
I used to love driving those roads a few years ago when I lived in Mansfield Center. You're bringing back great memories of CT! Hank
Good Morning I finally got around to checking for you. If you;re facing (on street view) with s. main coming in at your left and to your right is route 85, not 354. 354 IS S. Main street. Anyways; if you continued to the right at that fork onto rt. 85 (like you said) the little white shack on the left is Herman's Place Diner. They have excellent food and its been owned by the same lady for a long time. It couldve been Lou's before her though.
Neat! We lived on Storrs Road about 3 miles south of UConn. I miss that place. Eastern CT is a beautiful area. Does anyone remember the Treasure Factory? It was a junk/antique store inside a rambling, very old factory just south of Hebron Center. I can look in almost every room in my house and see stuff that I bought there, before they closed in the mid '90s.
I dont think i remember the Treasure factory. It was in an old factory near hebron? Im trying to think of an old factory near hebron haha. ah yes Storrs road! What a small world! My best friend from high school actually lives in the old Storrs Farmhouse on Spring Hill on route 195
Yep, small world! We lived just down the hill from Spring Hill, just up from the tractor dealer at Clover Mill Road. The beavers dammed the brook at Clover Mill Road and turned the wetlands in our backyard into a pond!
oh yea! the tractor dealership was empty for many, many years (looks like an old garage, right) and it was just recently turned into a small stone/home refinishing business. I think i know what house was yours. Small, older, square home on the right hand side before the old tractor dealership if you're heading toward windham? If so; that house was recently renovated and re-done last summer and it looks great now! It was in some sad shape prior to that. I drive by there all the time.
Thanks for looking at the map. It does look like Lou's, if you can find any more info, I would really appreciate it. Also, I tried to save the picture but found out quickly, you can't do that from Google Maps, lol! I have a huge favor. if you, or anyone in that area could take a picture of Herman's I would greatly appreciate it, as I could show it to my friends. I'll PM you with my e-mail address in case you can. Thanks so much so far for looking into it.
Pretty sure I know what you're talking about. Two story brick building on the north bound side of 85...lots of windows and located on a slight curve in the road...and somewhat close to the road as well for being an old factory....Still vacant from my last trip up that way to Bolton....windows busted out ETC.
Yep, that sounds like it, Chuck. Very close to the road, on the right side, right on the curve of the road, with a small open field on the north end of the building. Two stories plus a basement. We spent many Saturdays exploring that place.
Yep, that's our old house! It was built in '34 and we were the 3rd owners. We lived there for 6 years before we moved to CO in 2000. It was a neat old house, but it was tough to keep up with the age and the overgrown forest in the backyard. Glad to hear it's being taken care of! I wonder if the old black eagle plaque is still hanging over the porch? I bought that at the Treasure Factory along with many other old things.
Hey Farmergal I had forgot about my old post here about Herman’s/Lou’s diner. Hope you have been well. I think was it you who mentioned that you knew Minnie who owned it then and the granddaughter of the original owner still worked there? I was just wondering or you had heard hav then if she was Lou’s Granddaughter? We used to go there in the early 60’s on our way to the drags. He had the best burgers which I’m told Connecticut is known for. He also had a son Billy, or a worker by that name. We loved it there. So there it is. If you didnt hear anything , no problem.Hope all is well.
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