The Authentic History of Cincinnati Chili by Dann Woellert

Author:Dann Woellert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2013-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

This 1946 photo shows Thomas Manoff, his son, Thomas Jr., and Frank Bedell in front of Tip Top Hamburgers at 4002 Glenway Avenue. Courtesy of Todd Manoff.

The sign of Tip Top Hamburgers read, “Chili and Sandwiches to take out.” Courtesy of Todd Manoff.

This 1946 photo shows Thomas Manoff and brother-in-law Arthur Marsh behind the counter inside the Tip Top Hamburger shop. Courtesy of Todd Manoff.

After selling Tip Top, Thomas Manoff opened a new restaurant he called Hamburger Heaven at 2240 Beechmont Avenue. This was a small burger shop in the front of an old 1920s bungalow owned by Dale R. Bogart. One side was Hamburger Heaven, and the other side was Bogart’s wife’s real estate office. But the real kicker was that across from the restaurant was the elegant Elstun Theatre, run by Elstun Dodge and his mother, Rose. Opening in 1937, the Elstun was a one-screen theater that showed first-run movies and operated until 1962. On a Saturday in the 1950s, a kid could pay fifteen cents to enter and ten cents for a bucket of popcorn and spend the day watching serials, cowboy movies or other great 1950s movies like The Blob.

This prime location gave the Manoffs a good customer base for their restaurant. Thomas Manoff Jr. remembered a Sunday manager who would eat at Hamburger Heaven and gave them free movie passes. At the time, the Manoffs lived in an apartment above the Western Auto Parts Store across the street on Beechmont Avenue.

When the Manoffs ran Hamburger Heaven, they sold more hamburgers than chili. Thomas Manoff Jr. said, “Chili country at that time was limited to downtown Cincinnati and the West Side.” The East Side had not yet become accustomed to Cincinnati chili and had not developed the crave.

Hamburger Heaven had twelve stools around a J-shaped counter and three booths. Grandpa Kiefer, a carpenter by trade, had built these booths for the Manoffs. Initially, the Manoffs had a large wall-mounted jukebox by the front door, but they replaced it with a much smaller counter-mounted jukebox by the register. You can almost imagine hearing a Platters song at Hamburger Heaven while waiting for your chili. A hand-lettered marquee above the steam table advertised chili spaghetti for forty cents, the same price as a hamburger platter; chili with beans for twenty-five cents; cube steak sandwiches; and French fries for fifteen cents. They offered breakfast all day and served Pepsi products. Another sign proclaimed that the chili was made fresh daily and government inspected. “Manoff’s Famous Empress Brand Frozen Chili.” By the mid-1950s, the Empress Chili brand was well known in Cincinnati, but Tom Kiradjieff wouldn’t have the Manoffs profit from their coattails. So the “Empress Brand” part was removed from the Manoff chili label.

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