The Arcade Restaurant in Memphis, Shelby County, United States | A la Carte Restaurants

The Arcade Restaurant has the honor of being Memphis' oldest restaurant.   My grandfather, Speros Zepatos, established it in 1919, and it has been a familiar downtown fixture ever since. My dad, Harry, took over The Arcade Restaurant in the 1950's after he returned from the Korean War. He ran this landmark until the 1990's. Their portraits hang in the main dining room today.

The South Main Area has had its share of ups and downs. In the 1920's, 30's, and 40's, this intersection was among Memphis' busiest. Train passengers, soldiers, and Memphians crowded these wide sidewalks twenty-four hours a day.  In fact, The Arcade Restaurant didn't even have locks on the doors. In the 60's and 70's, with the decline of the railroad and exodus of downtown commerce, The Arcade Restaurant entered a down time. The death of Martin Luther King caused The Arcade Restaurant to share a sad and integral part in Memphis history in the United States. Locked were added to the doors and the adjacent store fronts were boarded up.