Nov

13

Model this…

Posted by nathanael on November 13th, 2009. Filed Under bars 

Here’s part two of Linda Miskin’s interview with Bill Anthony of the Model Cafe, where they cover origins of the name. Relatedly, I was talking to someone last night who was saying the Model used to be pronounced Mo-dell (like Art Modell) back in the mid 90s. I don’t know if that’s a real thing or a drunken hyperregional neo-pronunciation (like my favorite, the swee-who-lay).

LM: What is the history behind the name Model Café?

BA: When my grandfather and father first opened here, it was toward the end of Prohibition. Until Prohibition was repealed in 1933, they couldn’t sell liquor. The first name they gave the place was North Beacon Lunch. We still have that storefront sign.

Later, as the Great Depression was ending in the early 1940s, the federal government started putting money into cities with the aim of getting people out and about and spending money. It was called a Model Program. My grandfather thought that it was a great name and so named the place Model Café.

This bar has been here since Prohibition. That’s unbelievable.

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