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Diners flocked to the old French Tavern restaurant for nearly 40 years.
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HUNTINGTON —
"Service to a family by a family." That was the motto of the French Tavern,
one
of Huntington's most popular restaurants for more than 50 years.
The popular
eatery got its start in 1924 when George and Ida Weydisch combined their
European restaurant know-how to open a West Huntington restaurant. They named
their first restaurant Frenchie's. The restaurant became the French Tavern
when
the Weydischs moved it to Piedmont Road 10 years later.
In 1936, they
moved their restaurant again, this time to a building at 2349 Adams Avenue.
The
building previously had housed the Cabell County detachment of the West Virginia
State Police.
For nearly
four decades, customers flocked to the small brick building that housed the
popular restaurant.
There, they could enjoy a menu that featured hand-cut
steaks, live lobster and other
seafood items, homemade bread and incredible
desserts.
After the
Weydischs retired, Ida's son, Henry Bode, and his wife, Frances, operated the
restaurant. In 1974,
their son, George Bode and his wife Jenni took over the
restaurant and moved it to much larger
location a former Kroger supermarket at
Adams Avenue and West 19th Street.
The new
location offered a public dining room with seating for 200 patrons and a dcor in
keeping
with that of the old French Tavern. In addition, there was a 190-seat
supper
club with live entertainment and banquet facilities for up to 250 guests.
The relocated and enlarged restaurant closed in 1980.
In 1983, the deteriorating condition of the restaurant's long-time building at 2349 Adams forced its demolition.
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Note: This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Dec. 15 , 2014
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