Stanton's Cafe Restaurant

Staton’s Restaurant (also known as Staton’s Cafe, Staton’s Cafe-Restaurant, and Staton’s Hotel and Cafe) was advertised in the Green Book from 1951-1955 as “Stanton’s Cafe—319 South East St.” under “Restaurants” in Raleigh. It was advertised in the Green Book from 1956-1957 and from 1959-1967 as “Stanton’s Cafe-Restaurant—319 South East St.” in Raleigh.¹

Mark and Sarah Ann “Annie” Staton (sometimes spelled “Stanton”) took out a building permit for a cafe at 319 S. East Street in 1949. The restaurant, Staton’s Cafe, opened in 1950. The cafe was open from 6:15 am until 12:00 pm and offered “the best in fine foods.” By the 1960s, Staton had added a Motel to the business and renamed it “Staton’s Motel & Restaurant.”²

Mark T. Staton was born in Snow Hill, NC in 1919. He lived in Greene County until the 1940s and married Annie Colvin in Durham, NC in 1947. Prior to opening the cafe, Mark worked for the steel company (he would eventually be promoted to foreman) and Annie operated a beauty salon from the couple’s home at 611 Jamaica Drive. The couple was active with St. Paul AME Church in Raleigh. Mr. Staton was also a member of the Boyer Conservatory and the Kabala Temple.³

Mr. and Mrs. Mark Staton continued to run the motel and restaurant through the early 1990s. The restaurant continued to “specialize in home cooked foods & desserts.” The Statons deeded 317-319 S. East Street to the City of Raleigh in 1992. The building was demolished in 1992 and a new home was built on the property in 1997.⁴

Sarah A. Staton passed away in 1998. Mark Tilmon Staton passed away in 2000.⁵

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2024

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1951 Green Book, 54; Green, 1952 Green Book, 54; Green, 1953 Green Book, 54; Green, 1954 Green Book, 53; Green, 1955 Green Book, 54; Victor Green, 1956 Green Book, 46; Green, 1957 Green Book, 47; Green, 1959 Green Book, 52; Green, 1960 Green Book, 73; Green, 1961 Green Book, 69; Green, 1962 Green Book, 74; Green, 1963-1964 Green Book, 58; Green, 1966-1967 Green Book, 58. 
2. Hill’s Raleigh City Directory, 1948-1963, alphabetical listing, street listing; “Staton’s Cafe” (advertisement), The Carolinian, February 13, 1954, p. 2, accessed from http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1954-02-13/ed-1/seq-2/; “Staton’s Cafe,” The Carolinian, March 6, 1954, p. 2, accessed from http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1954-03-06/ed-1/seq-2/; “Building Permits,” The News and Observer, July 29, 1949, p. 28, accessed from www.newspapers.com; “Fire Again Strikes in Motel Here,” The Carolinian, November 9, 1963, p. 1, accessed from http://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn80008926/1963-11-09/ed-1/seq-1.
3.  “Mark Tilmon Staton,” January 17, 2000, Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-Current, accessed from www.ancestry.com; “Mark Staton,” 258 Highway to Greenville, NC, Olds, Greene County, North Carolina, 1940 United States Federal Census, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Mark Staton and Annie Colvin, September 20, 1947, Durham County, North Carolina Marriage Records, 1741-2011, accessed from www.newspapers.com; “Mark Staton,” Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, 1950 United States Federal Census, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Hill’s 1950 Raleigh City Directory, alphabetical listing; Hill’s 1951 Raleigh City Directory, alphabetical listing); “Mark Tilmon Staton” (obituary), The News and Observer, January 20, 2000, p. 24, accessed from www.newspapers.com. 
4. “Staton’s Cafe” (advertisement), The Carolinian, December 23, 1967, p. 34, accessed from https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn99061519/1967-12-23/ed-1/seq-34…; “Staton’s Motel & Restaurant” (advertisement), The Carolinian, December 29, 1973, p. 16, accessed from https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn99061519/1973-12-29/ed-1/seq-16…; “Staton’s Cafe” (advertisement), The Carolinian, December 20, 1990, p. 30, accessed from https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn99061519/1990-12-20/ed-1/seq-30…; “Making Room” (photo caption), The Carolinian, March 19, 1992, p. 2, accessed from https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn99061519/1992-03-19/ed-1/seq-2/…; “Deed Transfers,” The News and Observer, August 30, 1992, p. 33, accessed from www.newspapers.com; Lisa Bellamy, “Downtown East blessings mixed,” The News and Observer, December 27, 1992, p. 10, accessed from www.newspapers.com. 
5.  “Mark Tilmon Staton” (obituary), The News and Observer, January 20, 2000, p. 24, accessed from www.newspapers.com; “Sarah A. Staton” (obituary), Gold Leaf Farmer (Wendell, NC), December 24, 1998, p. 7, accessed from www.newspapers.com. 
    

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