27 May 2008

Lost City: Wisconsin Edition: A Good Sign: Jumes Restaurant


This beaut of a sign is right in the center of downtown Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where they love their bratwurst and all good folks vote Republican. It calls itself the oldest continually operating restaurant in the city. How old? 1929 old. (Don't you just love businesses that were formed right before the Crash, and yet somehow survived? And Jumes opened its doors on Oct. 1—just days before Wall Street tumbled!)

George and Ted Jumes were Greeks; George came over to America when he was merely 14. Their first Sheboygan restaurant was called the Coney Island Restaurant, for some reason. It was renamed Jumes when it moved in 1951 to its present location. As far as I can tell, the second generation of the family is still in charge now. The menu is pretty standard. And yes, they serve bratwurst. Also, uh, homemade dog treats, at $1.50 a bag.

It's best to just stand outside and admire the sign. Inside is a riot of unpleasant pink that would even be too much for Paris Hilton

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