In 1944, Eunice Kelley Horton Parker was 24 years old when she first started working for the Harlem House. She left 30 years later with fond memories. (Photo by Ernest C. Withers)

Imagine buying a juicy cheeseburger topped with lettuce and tomatoes for 35 cents?

Or a hot dog special that includes a heaping of French fries, salad and toast for 50 cents?

Or two center-cut pork chops grilled to order with piping hot fries, salad and toast for 95 cents?

Eunice Kelley Horton Parker doesn’t have to use her imagination. Each order is a fond memory for the 88-year-old Parker, who managed several Memphis-area Harlem House restaurants for 30 years.

Nine Harlem Houses were spread out in predominantly African-American neighborhoods: 159 South Fourth St., 207 Hernando St., 941 Poplar Ave., 1270 Thomas Ave., 237 North Main St., 336 Beale Ave., 701 South Lauderdale, 1333 Florida St., and 2493 Park Ave.

Parker was the shop manager for the Harlem Houses on Beale Street, South Fourth Street and Thomas Avenue. And she trained the women at the remaining locations.

Eunice Kelley Horton Parker, 88, and her granddaughter Deborah Fields, 54. (Photo by Wiley Henry)

“I remember when they brought the first Harlem Houses here,” said Parker, who was 24 years old in 1944 when owners Fred Sherman and Fred Kasterman first hired her. 

“It was a good place to eat,” she said. “People would come to the Harlem House after church on Sundays. Black police officers, doctors and firemen would come too. Everybody would come. And it stayed opened 24 hours.”

Bluesmen B.B. King and Bobby Blue Bland and the great Ma Rainey were some of the noted customers who hung out at the Harlem House, Parker said. The Bar-Kays, the Mad Lads and Rufus Thomas also contributed to the aura and camaraderie that both employees and customers found contagious.

For some of the male customers, Parker’s smile and strategically flirtatious conversation was a drawing card.

Customer satisfaction was a big deal for Parker and her associates because tips were seriously needed to supplement earning only $35 dollars every two weeks.

“I got enough tips in one day to pay my rent, utilities, and phone bill,” said Parker, who was known to help people who were less fortunate.

“They called me mama,” said Parker, who was born in Marks, Miss. “When the girls didn’t have a place to stay, I would let them stay with me.”

‘Oh, my God, they killed Dr. King!’

The Harlem House was based in Memphis and created to serve African Americans who were denied service at lunch counters during the segregation era.

The restaurant chain was founded by Joe Rogers, who owned a chain of Waffle House restaurants. He was a former regional manager of the Toddle House, a national restaurant chain that Frederick C. Smith, father of FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith, founded in 1932.

The Harlem Houses were built small with a short counter and a row of bar stools. A jukebox with the latest hits was a fixture that customers enjoyed.

White men and women were rarely seen in the restaurant, even though whites owned it, said Parker.

“White people used to send black people who worked for them to pick up their orders,” she said.

A number of African-American women found employment at the Harlem House. They specialized in customer service when African Americans were denied service at other eating establishments. (Photo by R. Earl Williams)

Inside of a Harlem House, order was maintained by shop managers who “didn’t take no mess,” said former employee Juanita Miller.

“It was always somebody in the Harlem House that the people would respect” and there was rarely a commotion between customers and employees. Still, Parker had the occasion to whack one customer across the head with a skillet.

“He was talking smart to me, and I turned around and hit him with a skillet and knocked him off the stool,” she said.

‘The quality of food was good then’   

This Harlem House menu shows the low prices for sandwiches and breakfast items. (Courtesy photo)

Parker’s 72-year-old daughter, Dorothy Jean Kelley, followed her to the Harlem House. She served customers for nearly a decade. Kelley’s daughter, Deborah Fields, also worked at the Harlem House.

Fields was 19-years-old when she started working at the popular eatery. It was her first job after moving back to Memphis from Michigan.

“People knew I was Eunice Parker’s granddaughter,” said Fields, now 54. “They knew she trained well.”

Parker said the management once offered her the top job as shop supervisor, but she declined the offer. “I just wanted to stay the shop manager and entertain the customers,” she said.

Today, Parker has no trouble remembering the names of all the women she trained to manage the Harlem Houses. They are parts of the memories that still excite her.

After 30 years of customer service, Parker moved on. She was 54. In 1976, she started working in environmental services at Methodist Central on Union. She retired in 1985 at age 65.

“I made a lot of money for those people,” said Parker. “The quality of food was good then. And I can still short order now.”