cranked out the new menus, distributed them on the tables, and waited. I stood by the cash register to hear all the complaints as people were leaving. To my surprise, New Orleans Clam Chowder was a big hit, and everyone wanted it again! But, of course, we just didn’t know how to burn the soup the same way ever again. Thus, this fabulous dish was born and died on the same day, never to be served again. TIMES A CHANGING - THE BRIDGES Over-expansion is a common business mistake, and it’s one of the most painful and valuable lessons I have ever learned. Expand- ing Shooster’s Drive-In might have been a good idea at first but, looking back, it was one of the worst decisions of my life. The market changed. We could have weathered the storms and even thrived if we made lots of small restaurants, I guess we weren’t that smart or lucky. By 1955, everything was changing at a quicker pace. My father was gone, the war was over, America was booming. Cars were taking over the landscape and to support them, superhighways were created, followed by suburbs and lots of new kids that came to be known as the baby boomers. You would think that all of these forces would have buoyed up our business, creating more traffic and the need for food. Instead, the reverse occurred. The city traffic that fed us was re-routed with the advent of The Chester Bypass High- way. The Delaware Memorial Bridge was built in Wilmington, Delaware cutting the traf- fic from the South. The Northern route was slashed by The Walt Whitman Bridge. All of those travelers would ordinarily have used The Chester-Bridgeport Ferry to cross to New Jersey and, in doing so, drive-by Shooster’s. Certainly, some would just happen to stop by. The business started to disappear. The population of Chester also started to drop. In 1950, Chester had a population of 66,000 residents. By 2000, the population dropped about 10% per year reaching 37,000. Today there are 34,000. The neighborhood
became blighted with empty homes, the perfect breeding ground for crime. Crime rates soared. The demise happened over a period of years. We saw was dwindling cash receipts and the roads being built. The message was clear. Harry and I realized we had to get out of the restaurant business. We shuttered Shoost- er’s and Harry started to concentrate full-time on real estate while I focused on wholesale seafood marketing. WICK’S BIG MOE In 1960, we rented the restaurant building to Wick’s Big Moe. They signed a ten-year lease. We were happy to see our investment performing again. The rent was $10K a year for ten years. George ‘Moe’ Bostwick was the new owner. He wanted to get a Big Boy fran- chise but couldn’t, so he chose the next best name, his own, Wick’s Big Moe Restaurant and Drive-In. His cousin Herb ran the place while he ran another nearby. Collecting rent took a big weight off of our shoulders.
for dining anytime Shooster’s
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