RTD: Richmond's Clover Room

Sunday's Richmond Times-Dispatch's "Bottom Line" on the editorial page lamented:

Richmonders with memories wish they could treat A&N Stores to a farewell wingding at the Clover Room.

I am one of those Richmonders with a memory ... I worked at the Clover Room the summer I graduated from high school.

The Clover Room was a Broad Street restaurant and ice cream parlor that was a well-known watering hole for many in the city and surrounding counties. They made their own ice cream so patrons could order any treat they wished ... banana splits, chocolate nut sundaes, thick creamy milk shakes, hand-packed pints and quarts to go. Clover Room's manager was our neighbor in Bon Air so he offered me a job that summer. He would occasionally point out politicians or other notable people who would frequent the place.

I was the cashier. The waitresses waited tables while the ice cream counter was manned by a fleet of high school- and college-aged young men who wore dark pants, white shirts, and ties tucked into their shirts. Ah ... memories....

In this week's Style Weekly, a profile about a new book on Richmond landmarks from years gone by, Memory Lane: Richmond, VA., Vol. 1, by R. David Ross, recalls the Clover Room:

Ross suggests that no place personified that middle ground better than the Clover Room, a restaurant and ice cream parlor that was located on West Broad near Westwood.

“From the tables for two, where couples on dates sat, to seating for 25, where a group would congregate from one of the evening’s festivities, we all knew where we would go, what we would have and with whom we would sit,” writes Ross.

Updated 8/11/09: - I mistakenly thought the Clover Room was demolished but a commenter had a better memory than I and wrote:

The Clover Room was originally owned and operated by brothers Beattie and Cabell Luck. The clover name and logo were used to represent the name Luck. Beattie Luck, who earlier dissolved his business partnership with Cabell, sold the Clover Room about 1970 to Andy Lewis of the Best Products family. Later the name was changed to Stanley Stegmyers and was operated by the Dankos restaurant group. The building still stands in the 4100 block of W. Broad Street.

That, in a nutshell, shows someone with a Richmond background.

I have heard from some of the former Clover Room ice cream counter workers, one who owns his own business now and who, once a year, dons the white apron and serves up ice cream treats to his employees. There have been private emails from scattered places ... some are still in Richmond but others are throughout Virginia and beyond.

Talk about walking down Memory Lane....