A small, but significant part of my childhood has passed away. Connie Marker died at the age of 87. Connie was the proprietor of the Richmond Greek restaurant, “Connie’s House of Marker.” And, to me, Connie was the grandfatherly man in the front room of the restaurant sitting in a comfortable chair, watching TV, and smoking a pipe.
My parents were regulars at Connies. They went there most Wednesday nights. They’d leave the phone number to the restaurant out so that we kids could get in touch with them if we needed them. I still remember that number (966-2016). On special occasions (e.g. celebrate good grades), they’d take us too. The Greek salad was one of my favorite foods ever, and they made a mean fried chicken. I recall some pleasant nights slurping down coke after coke as my family sat around a big round table. I remember my Dad’s sketched picture on the wall with many such pictures of the regulars. I remember my folks having their own custom mugs at the restaurant. And, one of my most vivid memories of my Meemaw (who died when I was 10 or 11) is her and my Dad having a friendly but earnest battle over who was going to pick up the check.
Connie himself was a son of Greek immigrants and proud of his heritage; a devoted Shriner; and a professional boxing referee. In any event, his restaurant was just a unique place in Richmond, and I’m glad to have known it and him.
Marker was a nasty bigot. He refused to serve Blacks until, in the 1960s, he was forced to by law. He refused to serve unaccompanied women at the bar.
Obviously you didn’t know Connie very well… some of his best friends were black. He also wouldn’t serve unaccompanied women because he thought women belong on a pedistol, not a bar stool. If I were Connie, I probably would not have served you!
Greetings, John! Recently my husband brought home a collection of unusual pipes. They include Knute, Ben Wade and several other names, including a “House of Marker” pipe “made in London,England”. We have searched the internet to no avail, for any info on this particular pipe. If Connie developed his own mixture of tobacco, and sold it, is it possible that he commissioned “House of Marker” pipes to be made and sold? Thank you for any info. Christine, in Ohio.
I’ll ask my aunt! It sounds like something he would have done!
I think it is disgraceful would slander a man who is not here to defend himself. It speaks volumes about the poster, not Mr. Marker.
He may have been a bigot, I have no idea. And, he was certainly a chauvinist. But he wasn’t nasty.
Refusing to serve Blacks doesn’t qualify as nasty? You have a very high threshold, Doug. He was also a member of the Klan, according to a Richmond contact. Still not enough?
How do you know Connie was a Klan member?
If he was alive and doing that stuff right now, I guess I’d be willing to join in a crusade against him. I could have sworn I saw blacks being served at his restaurant from time to time when I was a kid. But, it’s been a good 25-30 years, and I was young; so I’m not going to swear to my memory. What I know is that he’s dead, and he was nice to me and my family. So, I’m going to go ahead and enjoy those memories from my childhood.
If you have reasons to condemn him and see value in doing so, go ahead.
The full and honest public history of Connie Marker should be told, not some whitewashed and sanitized facsimile.
He did eventually serve blacks, and probably while you were young. He did so not voluntarily but because he was forced to by the civil rights laws of the 1960s.
I have a friend that lives in Ohio, that smokes a pipe. He alway brought Connie Marker’s House Blend. (House of Marker) which was a special blend he had made . It was a cherry flavor. Does anyone know where to find this Connie House of Marker pipe tobacco? Thanks for any help you can give me in locating this pipe tobacco.
So, Connie is my uncle and I still smoke his blend today. It is somewhat of a mixture of: 2 parts vanilla, 1 parts Cognac, and 2 parts cherry. I usually just buy the pouches and mix them myself. Just tweet the mixtures to your liking. Every time I light the pipe it brings back the hours of lectures he gave to me. He had his faults, but he was a good man and he did everything possible to make sure his family turned out good. RIP uncle Connie…
I couldn’t tell you for sure, but you might try asking the folks who own Chuck’s Sports Bar which I’m told took the place of Connie’s.
Connie was “The Dean of Wrestling Referees”!
Connie was my neighbor for several years and we use to frequent his restaurant.
He was probably pretty bigoted but in my opinion we are all messed up just in different ways and he was likely brought up that way.
I am glad that in the end only God will judge him (and me).
I thing Connie was also a boxer years ago and was in the Golden Gloves bunch.
I watched him with a punching bag and could tell he was quite talented.
my mom worked at Connie’s for 5 years in the 70s, does anyone know his Greek Chicken recipe?
I spent last Sunday in Richmond, A sentimental journey. More in next note.
Knew your mom…all Great people..Connie treated me like a son..awesome person
I would take friends to ‘Connie’s’ in 1966. Loved his cold dark (20 cent) mugs of draft. I was between college years, working at Hoffco nearby, trying to earn some of next years expenses. I found this blog when I did a search on Connie.
I spent last Sunday in Richmond on somewhat of a sentimental journey, amazed both at what I recognized and what I couldn’t find.
If the former Connie’s is now a similar business under a different name, I may have found it.
I recognized a vacant place across the street as where another place had been, run by a guy named Gus.
I think I found the old Hoffco plant, which I believe had previously been F&N. I discovered that Hoffco had later moved to another location, before closing in 2009.
As for Connie himself, I thought he was a great guy. I always looked forward to visiting his place.
I’m quite aware of the zealotry about ‘social justice’ nowadays. Its easy to simplistically judge the past by standards of the present.
My grandfather, coincidentally, had worked at F&N for a while in the 20’s. I loved him, like my grandparents and respected my ancestors. Why should I revile them because of the times they lived in? It was a different world then.
In closing, I would love to talk to anyone who could update me on some of the people, places etc of Richmond at that time. I have a lot of memories of Richmond all fond.
I worked the bar and the kitchen for the dellks 30 odd years ago that bought the restaurant from Connie but Connie was frequently around. He was a man worth knowing and couldn’t have been nicer to a dumb college kid. Despite some of the comments here, I’ll remember him as I choose- a man with a big heart, a lot of love, and stories that captivated me. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
Connie Marker was a Man of his time. He ran for a seat on Richmonds City Council. A man not afraid to be honest. At a pre election campaign stop in a predominantly Black neighborhood, He was asked. ” Would you 9bject to tour two daughters being asked out on dates by Black Boys?” HIs response was honest. “I will defend and support your rights to an good education and your rights to work and vote. But I do not and will not accept a Black going our with my Daughters.”
I’m of the same mind set. I have Black Friends, they do not approve of therw Daughters going out with White Boys. I guess we are all a bit bigoted. See the good in people for what they contribute in life. Not 2hat you 5hink rhey should be like. My uncle was a self made man with core values. Far more Than I can say for many this day and age.
This is an old thread but I hope this finds some of you that cammented. Very interesting reading.
Its weird, I have never been to connies and I din’t think I have ever been to richmond In. But I do have a matchbook from Connies. Its old because the striking surface is on the front. On the back is a drawing of a man smoking a pipe and below it says “The Golden greek” I had a bunch of these at one time and remember lighting more than one joint with them. No idea how I got them many years ago. I am 75 now and was just curious.
Thanks for posting this! I definitely remember Connie “the Golden Greek” smoking a pipe. My own memories of him were from a good 40 years ago.
The matchbooks are from Connie’s. He was a really nice guy. Yes, he was opinionated.
If you cursed ,you had to put money in the no cursing jar. Loved,loved his Marker burgers on rye buns with a slice of sweet onion! And the dark creamy beer. Is the beer still sold some where? Does anyone have the beer’s name? My own story, I married a Jr high coach and teacher who coached wrestling.
We were at Connie’s a lot. Well, when I turned 21 my husband and I went next door to Tony’s at to celebrate. Don’t you know Connie found us and told us to come back to his bar. He said he knew I was underage but he said we were never troublesome to him so he kept on serving me for 18 months. I am now 76! Love my beer.
Hi … I just wanted to say, it’s not a case of ‘applying today’s standards to the past’ to think of Connie’s open distaste for black people as having been one of the most salient things about him as a public figure in Richmond in the 1970s. His refusal to serve black people was the main thing I knew about him, and so far as I can remember, Connie’s being an anti-black racist always came up in connection with the restaurant—in my experience, it was neither secret, nor widely shared or accepted in that time and place. As a kid I felt confused and upset whenever I saw those matchbooks. It’s disorienting now to read memories of the place and the man, from the perspective of a child who wasn’t told about those things at a time. I appreciate your leaving this up and giving people a chance to talk it through.