Owens

Owens Restaurant was listed in the Green Book as “Owens—125 E. Hargett St.” under “Raleigh” from 1948-1954. The restaurant was located at 4 Lightner Building.¹

Owens Restaurant (also “Owen’s Luncheonette" and “Owen’s Restaurant”) first appeared in the Raleigh city directory in 1941. It was located at 4 Lightner Building, a commercial building in Raleigh that housed several Green Book businesses. Owen’s Restaurant was owned by Thomas and Sadie Owens, who lived in an apartment in the Lightner Building.²

Thomas Owens was born in 1912 in Henderson County. He married Sadie Redding and moved to Raleigh, securing an apartment at the Lightner Building. Prior to opening the restaurant, Thomas worked for Montgomery Ward and Sadie worked as a private cook. They kept the restaurant open until 1950, with Thomas cooking and Sadie serving as a waitress.³

Sadie Owens passed away in 1953 at the age of 40. Thomas died in 1990.⁴

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti 

Notes

1.  Victor Green, 1948 Green Book, 63; Green, 1949 Green Book, 57; Green, 1950 Green Book, 63; Green, 1951 Green Book, 54; Green, 1952 Green Book, 54; Green, 1953 Green Book, 54; Green, 1954 Green Book, 53.
2. Hill’s 1940 Raleigh City Directory, street listing; Hill’s 1941 Raleigh City Directory, street listing; Hill’s 1948 Raleigh City Directory, alphabetical listing, street listing.
3. “Thomas Owens,” November 15, 1912, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, US WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Hill’s 1939 Raleigh City Directory, alphabetical listing, street listing; “Thomas Owens,” 125 E. Hargett Street, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, 1940 United States Federal Census, accessed from www.ancestry.com; “Thomas Owens,” 125 E. Hargett Street, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, 1950 United States Federal Census, accessed from www.ancestry.com.
4.  “Sadie Vanilla Owens,” November 25, 1953, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, US Death Certificates, 1909-1976, accessed from www.ancestry.com; “Thomas Owens Jr.” December 16, 1990, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina Death Indexes, 1908-2004, accessed from www.ancestry.com.