Silver Grill Restaurant

The Silver Grill opened in the mid-1940s. It was located in a building previously occupied by Big Buster’s Cafe, an African American - owned restaurant owned by Amos Devane in the 1930s and early 1940s. This entry was advertised in the Green Book from 1950 - 1957 and 1959 - 1967 amd was listed as “Silver Grill---115 Gillespie St.” under “Restaurants” until 1956, when the Green Book stopped using sub-category headings.¹
    
Melvin Moses opened the Silver Grill in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in the mid-1940s. Moses was a farmer in his 50s who lived with his family (his wife, Ada, and their children) in nearby Cedar Creek. The Silver Grill was known for its signature dish, stewed beef and rice - a dish also served by the restaurant’s predecessor, Big Buster’s Cafe.²

Moses focused on his tobacco farm from 1949 - 1957 and was only listed in the city directory as the restaurant’s owner once during that period, in 1954. He was also listed as the owner of another business, Moore’s Chatham Street Grocery and Market, in a 1949 newspaper ad. During this period three other men - the Rev. Douglas Morrison, Henry Willis, and Hubert L. McFayden - took the helm at the Silver Grill. An advertisement from 1949, when the restaurant was under the management of Rev. Morrison, highlighted the Silver Grill’s “home made pies” and “tasty home cooked foods;” another ad, in 1950, advertised the grill as a place to “eat and relax.” Regardless of the manager or the era, the Silver Grill was consistently known for its home cooked food and a relaxing atmosphere.³

Melvin Moses returned to operating the restaurant permanently in 1958. The Silver Grill remained open until 1967, when it became Ted’s 115 Club.⁴

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2019

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1950 Green Book, 62; Green, 1951 Green Book, 53; Green, 1952 Green Book, 53; Green, 1953 Green Book, 53; Green, 1954 Green Book, 52; Green, 1955 Green Book, 53; Green, 1951 Green Book, 53; Green, 1952 Green Book, 53; Green, 1953 Green Book, 53, Green, 1954 Green Book, 52; Green, 1955 Green Book, 53; Green, 1956 Green Book, 45; Green, 1957 Green Book, 46; Victor Green, 1959 Green Book, 51; Green, Alma D. Green, 1960 Green Book, 72; Green, 1961 Green Book, 68; Green, 1962 Green Book, 74; Green, 1963-1964 Green Book, 58; Green, 1966-1967 Green Book, 58; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1937  (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing, p. 38; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1939  (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing, p. 42; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1941  (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing p. 55, street directory p. 645; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1943 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing pp. 54, 304, street directory, p. 703; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1946  (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing pp. 311, 391.
2. 1930 United States Census, Cedar Creek, Cumberland County, NC, digital images s.v. "Moses Melvin,” accessed from www.ancestry.com; 1940 United States Census, Cedar Creek, Cumberland County, NC, digital images s.v. "Moses W. Melvin,” accessed from www.ancestry.com; Moses Melvin and Ada Melvin, June 7, 1914, Cumberland County, North Carolina, Marriage Records, 1741-2011, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Don Bennett, Jr. email correspondence to Lisa Withers (NC Green Book Project), May 11, 2019; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1946 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing pp. 311, 391.
3. “It’s Better to Know Than To Guess When Using Fertilizers,” Rocky Mount Telegram (Rocky Mount, NC), March 1, 1953, p. 6, accessed from www.newspapers.com; Ad, The Carolinian, March 12, 1949, p. 3, accessed from http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1949-03-12/ed-1/seq-11/; Ad,  The Carolinian (Raleigh, NC), January 14, 1950, p. 17, accessed from http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1950-01-14/ed-1/seq-17/…; Ad, The Carolinian (Raleigh, NC), July 31, 1948, p. 3, accessed from http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1948-07-31/ed-1/seq-11/…; Ad, The Carolinian (Raleigh, NC), September 10, 1949, accessed from http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1949-09-10/ed-1/seq-16/; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1948-49  (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing pp. 347, 435; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1951  (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing p. 56; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1953  (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing pp. 298, 412; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1954-55 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing pp. 243, 298); Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1956  (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing pp. 363, 439; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1957  (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing pp. 483, 583.
4. Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory, 1958 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), alphabetical listing pp. 524, 600, 674; Hill’s Fayetteville (Cumberland County, N.C.) City Directory,1967 (Richmond, VA: Hill Directory Co. Inc.), street directory, p. 115.

Did you know?

• This entry was listed as “Silver Grill---115 Gillespie St.” or  “Silver Grill Restaurant---115 Gillespie St.” from 1950-1957 and from 1959-1967.
• From 1951-1955, the Silver Grill was listed twice in each edition under the “Restaurants” category.
• The 1956 edition is the first Green Book publication without category subheadings. The restaurant was listed twice for Fayetteville from 1956-1957.