Joe’s had a solid Run Here until Prohibition. “Ha!” says Joe Palms, reacting to the pun in July’s clue. “That’s in the tiled entry to the [Ann Arbor] Running Company’s new branch at 200 N. Fourth.”
“I recall ‘Joe’ being hidden from general view,” writes Arno Scheller, back when Wooden Spoon Books had the space and the entry was enclosed. “We mused to the bookstore owner: but 308 isn’t the right street number and inverted besides, to which he replied, look more carefully: it’s the name Joe.”
Even earlier, “the building was the Catalpa Inn,” says Fran Wright. “From 1913 to 1920 [the corner storefront] was Joe Parker’s Tavern,” relays Tom Jameson. Joe’s was “remembered forever in the U-M song.” “I wanna go back to Michigan to dear Ann Arbor town, back to Joe’s” Megan Szakasits added.
We received thirty-three entries in June, all but one correctly identifying the onetime Joe’s Tavern. Megan Szakasits won our drawing and will enjoy her $25 gift certificate at Zingerman’s.
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To enter this month’s contest, use the photo and clue above and the information at the bottom of the August Back Page to submit your answer.
