The Parkettes

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Opened in 1946, a drive-in at the foot of the old Spring Valley Bridge
 was the first restaurant in the popular Parkette chain.

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HUNTINGTON — In 1946, Fred and Gloria Long opened a small drive-in restaurant at the
foot of the old Spring Valley Bridge in Huntington’s Westmoreland
neighborhood. It would be the first in a legendary local chain of
restaurants — the Parkettes — that over a span of nearly four
 decades fed untold thousands of hungry customers.

In 1952, the Longs opened a second Parkette restaurant on U.S. Route 60
 in Kenova, across from the old Ceredo-Kenova High School. Two
 years later, in 1954, the couple opened the Waverly Road
Parkette next door to Chandler’s Plywood
 Products in Westmoreland.

In 1960, the Longs opened their 5th Avenue Parkette in Huntington,
across the street from Marshall University’s Twin Towers
 Dormitory. And from 1977 to 1983, they operated Long’s
 Family Restaurant at 6th Street and U.S. 60 in Ceredo.

The Longs sold their 5th Avenue Parkette to Dwight’s Restaurant
 and the Waverly Road location to Chandlers. In 1974, L.D.
Maynard, the owner of the Fat Boy Restaurant in
 Chesapeake, Ohio, purchased the Kenova
Parkette from the Longs.

Over the years, the Kenova eatery had become a tremendously
 popular spot, and that continued after the Parkette sign
came down and the new Fat Boy sign went up.

On Saturday mornings, members of the C-K Athletic Boosters
would gather for breakfast and an opportunity to offer
 their opinions about the previous night’s football
 game. On school days, it was a poplar lunch
 spot for C-K students. And in the evenings
it attracted a crowd of regulars to
discuss the news of the day.

A Dec. 3, 1981, fire all but destroyed the popular Kenova restaurant.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Aug. 4, 2020.

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