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HISTORICAL AND INDUSTRIAL EDITION OF THE GASTON PROGRESS
Nineteen
METROPOLITAN CAFE
FRUIT STORE OK N. S. TRAKAS
N. S. TRAKAS & COMPANY.
Wholesale Fruits.
It is by no means to be wondered at
that the natives of classic and sunny
Greece, should take naturally to the
business of handling tropical and semi-
tropical fruits, for theirs is a country
which has from time immemorial been
famous for its orchards and its vine
yards, and a large portion of the popu
lation are engaged in cultivating them.
Many of the Greeks who come to this
country to make their home find deal
ing in fruit profitable, for they under
stand the business as do few other
people. Gastonia has for several years
been the center of a large wholesale
as well as retail fruit trade, and no
firm has done more to foster and en
courage the trade than has the firm of
N .S. Trakas & Company, whose
wholesale establishment is located at
226 Main street. This business was
only established in 1908, but the four
years it has been in existence have
been years of progress, and the firm
now has one of the most extensive
establishments in this part of the
Carolinas. A trade has been built up
in all the neighboring towns, such as
Bessemer, Belmont, Kings Mountain,
Lowell, and others, which is rapidly in
creasing and a wholesale house and
three retail stores are also located at
Spartanburg. A retail store is also
maintained at 211 west Main street,
opposite the postofftce. There is a
branch at Asheville, and the firm is in
terested in the Southern Fruit Com
pany at Charlotte. All kinds of tropi-
as stationery and notions. He is a
native of Beyruith, Syria, where he
was born 25 years ago. Upon landing
in New York he came directly to
Charlotte, where his brother Ikial was,
and still is in business, and started on
his own account. Four years ago he
determined to locate here where he
has been most successful.
R. W. EDWARDS.
Groceries, Shoes and Notions.
When a merchant has successfully
conducted his business for the space
Charles Pritsolas, Prop.
“Let us eat, drink and be merry, for
tomorrow we die,” is an old adage,
and the motto of many who love the
good things of life, and to such a per
son a well-furnished, homelike restau
rant, where the cooking is of the best,
the food fresh and pure, the service
first-class, and the prices reasonable, is
very attractive. As every one knows
who has had any experience with
restaurants, this is a combination
hard to find; it takes a born restau-
ranter to bring it about, and that is
what Mr. Charles Pritsolas, the pro
prietor of the Metropolitan Cafe, has
proved himself to be, to his regular
patrons as well as to the traveling
public. Mr. Pritsolas’ establishment
is at 127 Main avenue, and he has as
customers the most discriminating
people of this section. He gives his
personal attention to every deta:
and makes it a point to always
the very finest that can be bought
ho has had long experience in t]
business, and knows when he is g'
ting the best and will have nothi|
else. The first impression one
upon entering this restaurant is
air of cleanliness that pervades the
whole place. The table cloths are
snowy, the napery immaculate, the
cutlery shines and the service leaves
nothing to be desired. Mr. Pritsolas
has conducted the restaurant for 3
a $2.25 ticket for $2.00; and a |1.10
ticket for ?1.00. Mr Pritsolas, the
young and progressive proprietor, is
a native of ancient Greece, which in
the days of old was noted as the
home of Cato and other great philoso
phers and its famous school of learn
ing. Mr. Pritsolas, after spending a
short time in Constantinople, set sail
for the New World, and after landing
in New York went to Lynchburg, Va.,
where he was employed in the cafe
of his brother George. In his restau
rant here Mr. Pritsolas is ably assisted
by his cousin, Mr. James Kappas, a
young man who thoroughly under
stands the business and is possessed
of many sterling qualities.
CITY CAFE.
CURRY’S STUDIO.
F. F. Rhyne, Proprietor.
Few cities of the size of Gastonia
have a first-class restaurant where
reasonable prices are charged, and
food is served a la carte at any time
during the day and until a reasonably
late hour at night. Travelers have to
depend on hotels and boarding houses
where meals are served only at certain
hours, and residents who are detained
down town or families who do not wish
to take the trouble to prepare a meal
have either to go without or be con
tent with a cold lunch bought at a
grocery or delicatessen store. In this
oranges, ►lemons.
a"nairSS^!TI^Sap^fruit are nandiea
car load lots, and an immense trade is
also carried on in grapes and domestic
fruits. The firm also handles confect
ionary, cigars and tobacco, at retail.
Mr. N. S. Trakas, the senior membor
of the firm, came to this country about
12 years ago, and has been in the
business ever since with his brother,
Mr. A. S. Trakas and E. 0. Frierson.
I
i
STORE OF W. T. ADAMS
W. T, ADAMS.
Artistic Photography.
Photography during the last decade
has reached a stage of perfection that
could scarcely have been dreamed of
by Dagerre, the clever Frenchman,
who invented the art so many years
ago. It was never so popular as it is
at the present time, probably because
never before has it been possible to
produce such artistic pictures as are
now produced and at such reasonable
cost. The people of this city and lec
tion are to be congratulated upon har
ing here an instittuion equipped like
Curry’s Studio, located at 111 1-2 Main
street, on the second fioor. This studio
produces pictures quite as good as
those of many of the most celebrated
photographers of the country who
charge the most exhorbitant prices.
Much of the splendid work done there
is reproduced in this issue of the Gas
ton Progress, but as good as it is the
printed page can give but a faint idea
of the original. The studio is equip
ped to do every class of high grade
work, both indoor and out, including
^life size portraits, places of business,
churches and private residences. It
has as its patrons the most discriminat
ing people of Gastonia and this entire
section, and has a large patronage
among the people of neighboring towns
including Charlotte and Spartanburg.
Mrs. M. H. Curry is the proprietress of
the studio, having purchased it about
18 months ago from .John Green, who
conducted the establishment for a num
ber of years. Mrs. Curry is a daughter
of the late Capt. J. Q. Holland, a Con
federate veteran, and one of the most
prominent and respectful citizens of
Gastonia. She is a member of the
Daughters of the Confederacy. The
assistant is Mr. John T. Gilbert, an
expert with the camera, and a man
who thoroughly understands his busi-
W. EDWARD’S STORE
of 13 years, no better evidence need
be adduced to prove that his methods
have been fair and square. This is the
record held by Mr. R. W. Edwards,
dealer in groceries, shoes and notions,
at 115 South street, nearly opposite
the city hall. Mr. Edwards has one
years, and during that brief time has
made a great success. The establish
ment is the very best place of its kind
in this part of North Carolina, and is
30x100 feet and covering 3,000 square
feet of fioor space, which is cooled by
electric fans that generate a most de
lightful Coney Island breeze. The
METROPOLITAN CAFE
Groceries and Seed.
In the absence of any central market
the people of Gastonia are dependent
upon the grocers to supply them with
both groceries, provisions and vege
tables, and as a natural consequence
stores of this kind are more numerous
here than they are in many communi
ties. There is also keen competition,
and' this serves to keep the standard
higtL-_^l of which rebouii^s to the
► both t^e merc^nt and hi,s
, Among tne igauing^ grocers
of the city none takes higher rank
than does Mr. W. T. Adams, whose at
tractive establishment is located at
117 South street. His place is conven
iently located near the center of the
most popular section of Gastonia, but
his trade is confined to no particular
locality and extends throughout this
city and section. Mr. Adams has only
been in business since February, but
durmg this short period he has built
up a trade as that which other mer
chants have striven for a long time and
yet failed to get. This is because his
goods are always fresh and pure, com
ing from the best marmfacturers only
ai d his produce brought in directly
from the neighboring farms without
being handled by middlemen and com-
m:ssion merchants. Mr. Adams also
has a hardware department in connec
tion with his establishment which has
proved to be popular with his custom
ers and his stock of seeds is one of the
Tai'gest and most select to be found in
the city. His store at 117 South street,
fronting 30 feet on that thoroughfare
is clean, sanitary and well ventilated,
a good illustration of which a high
class, modern grocery establishment
should be. Mr. Adams is a native of
Gaston county.
as in many other things, Gastonia is
in the lead, for located here is the
City Cafe of which Mr. F. F. Rhyne is
the popular and progressive pro
prietor. His restaurant under Le-
bowetz Department Store, is most
modern in all its appointments, and
would be a credit to any city many
times the size of this. Here a good
meal can always be ordered cooked to
suit the palate of the most fastidious
epicure. Anything from a couple of
eggs to a delicious steak will be cook
ed to your order in a few minutes, or
a cold luncheon can be procured more
quickly. The only cheap thing about
^he place are the prices and the cua-
ex^Ilent^foo^ s^veo^dy^;^5iifc'^nd ex
perienced waiters and prepared by a
high-class chef, can be furnished at the
low prices charged. The margin of
profit must be small, but if the pat
ronage is large, success is bound to
come, and has in great measure. There
is a large floating population in Gas
tonia, strangers who have heard of its
phenominal growth, who come here
seeking employment or investment.
JOHN T. GILBERT
ness. He is daily producing work that
will compare most favorably with that
of any photographic artist in the
country. He loves his work and his
NORMAN’S FRUIT STORE
THE CITY CAFE
J. NORMAN.
Dealer in Foreign and Dometic Fruits,
Cigars and Tobacco.
For some reason the native born
American has never made a success
in dealing in tropical fruits, and with
few exceptions all their ventures have
failed. They cannot adapt themselves
to the business, but on the other hand
the foreigner fresh from his native
land, and in a strange country, among
strange people, rarely makes a failure.
This is illustrated in the case of Mr.
Jim Norman, one of the most enter
prising and successful fruit dealers in
Gastonia. His store on Main street is
patronized by the most particular and
discrimnating people of this city and
section and during the four , years he
has been in business here he has suc
ceeded by energy, industry and
straightforward dealing in building up
a splendid trade. His fruits are al
ways fresh and well kept and the es
tablishment is one of the most attrac
tive in the city. Mr. Norman also
carries a full line of the best cigars,
cigarettes, chewing and smoking to
bacco, and smokers supplies, as well
of the most popular and attractive
stores in Gastonia and his trade is not
confined to the city, but extends to a
radius of many miles in the country,
where he has a host of friends. Front
ing 30 feet on South street near Main
street, it runs back a distance of 90
feet, giving him a floor space of 2,700
square feet in which to display the im
mense stock of groceries, provisions,
produce, shoes, crockery, glass ware,
notions, and everything kept in a high
class general store. He has in fact a
department store in the making, and
if his business continues to grow as it
has been during the last few years, he
will soon have to seek larger quarters.
Mr. Edwards has been connected with
a general store all his business life.
He came here from Rock Hill, S. C.,
about 13 years ago to make his home.
best of everything in season can
had at short notice, and a specialty |s
made of quick lunches for busy pej)
pie. Commutation tickets may be ha
at the following rate, which is most
reasonable: A $3.50 ticket for $3.00;
Patronize the people whose write
ups you find in this edition, for they
are the ones who have shown a de
sire to do something for the welfare
and advancement of Gastonia.
(©li) Virginia
For sale in Charlottesville and Albe
marle county, some magnificent build
ing lots and farm lands at remarkable
low prices. Here is Monticello, home
of Thomas Jefferson and its the most
beautiful spot in the Old Dominion.
Address R, P. VALENTINE
Charlottesville, - ■ - Virginia
c
and these, of course, help to fill the
tables, but even without these the City
Cafe would be a success for Mr. Rhyne
has, by giving the people their money’s
worth, already built up a large and
constantly increasing trade. Mr.
Rhyne is a native of Dallas, the old
county seat of Gaston, and successfully
run a restaurant at Spartanburg, S. C.,
before selling out and coming here to
make his home about eight months
ago. He thoroughly understands his
business and has gathered about him
an excellent staff who are loyal to his
interests.
greatest pleasure consists in produc
ing an artistic picture. Mr. Gilbert is
a native of Hendersonville, where he
was born 28 years ago and took up the
study of photography immediately
upon leaving school when he was 18
years old. He has been in the busi
ness for the past 10 years and has
gained for himself a wide reputationl
Dead men never advertise except on
their tombstones.
Antiques
INTERIOR METROPOLITAN CAFE
I have some excellent Antiques that
I will sell at a great sacrice—many
from the former landed estates of the
Old Dominion—Mahogany Tables,
Sofas, Chairs, Etc.
Address
MRS. B. V. W.
Box 212 Charlottesville, Va.
J. WILEY CARROLL. Chief of Police.