Gino’s and Ameche’s memories from Bill Unger of Shrewsbury
I received a letter from Bill Unger of Shrewsbury earlier this year with even more memories of the famous Gino’s and its Baltimore-area compatriot, Ameche’s.
He adds, “Back in the mid ’50s, when I was young, dumb and happy, I spent several weekends a month visiting friends in Baltimore. I paid a stop every time at Ameche’s on Loch Raven Blvd. A real drive-in with order boxes and car hops. They were famous for their onion rings, Powerhouse sandwich and the slogan ‘I’ll meet you at Ameche’s.’ This may have predated Gino’s, which was famous for its Gino Giant.”
In fact, the Ameche of Ameche’s is actually a Gino’s co-founder! In fact, Alan Ameche, who played with Gino Marchetti on the Baltimore Colts, actually got into the food business with other partners in 1957, starting the restaurants that would later become Gino’s, and Marchetti didn’t come on board until a couple of years later! (The Ameche’s chain kind of ran parallel, to the best of my understanding, with five locations in the Baltimore area; at most, Gino’s had more than 375 locations!)
Previous Gino’s posts
- Oct. 4, 2011: Mail call: York County Shopping Center notes, and other memories
- March 16, 2011: Everybody goes to Gino’s, Part II: Catching up on more from our recent trip
- March 9, 2011: More on Gino’s: It’s all about the people and the food
- March 7, 2011: An amazing weekend criss-crossing Pennsylvania: Gino’s welcomes York, PA
- Nov. 24, 2010: The return of Gino’s to Pennsylvania, and a local reunion
- June 29, 2010: Everybody goes to Gino’s, because Gino’s is the place to go
We went to Ameche’s on Loch Raven Boulevard on the day it opened. Going out to a restaurant was a really big deal back then. We also enjoyed Gino’s and Roy Rogers.
Does anyone remember “The Golden Arm Restaurant” on York Road? The Golden Arm of course belonged to Johnny Unitas.