Sugar Bowl
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
This is the 9th of ten plaques placed on historic building by the Rotary Club of Gaylord in 2017.
Images
Plaque describing the building's history
History marker placed on exterior wall in 2017 by the Rotary Club of Gaylord
Sugar Bowl restaurant in the 1950s
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The Sugar Bowl was originally owned and operated by John Gocha. He sold the business to George Doumas and his brother Harry in 1919. At that time, the Sugar Bowl was a candy store and ice cream parlor. As the business grew, it transformed into a full-service restaurant.
The building underwent several expansions and renovations. The first expansion occurred in 1938, when the Doumas brothers purchased the the building to the immediate west of the Sugar Bowl. In 1964, a new bar and formal dining room were added added to the east in what had been the Glasser Drug. The pharmacy was relocated to the vacant building to the east that had once been the A&P grocery store.
George’s son, Robert, took over ownership of the Sugar Bowl in 1972 and operated the downtown landmark until selling the business in 2016. Just three years shy of reaching the 100 year milestone of being owned by the Doumas family, the Sugar Bowl was the oldest continuously operated eating establishment in Otsego County.
Today (2022) the iconic Sugar Bowl is gone and replaced by El Patron Grill.
Sources
Doumas, Robert H. Gaylord - My Father and I. Unpublished.
"George Doumas Marks 50th Year in Business." Otsego County Herald Times (Gaylord) October 22nd 1969. , 1-10.
Jergenson, Mary. "Sugar Bowl Celebrates 85 Years." Gaylord Herald Times (Gaylord) November 3rd 2004. , B sec, 11-11.
Parshall, Lorene. "Gaylord's Landmark Restaurant: Sugar Bowl Celebrates 90th." Gaylord Herald Times (Gaylord) November 4th 2009. , A sec, 1-4.