There were all sorts of sandwiches, as you might expect: American cheese, pimento cheese, fried ham, salami, egg salad, and even goose liver (yum!). Judging from the ads and displays, this photograph of a Poplar Avenue cafe was taken sometime in the late 1930s.
Dear T.M.: It is indeed a nice interior shot of a typical old-timey lunchroom in Memphis, but what really caught my eye was the young man in the foreground. After all, I immediately recognized the gilt binding of the book he’s holding as Volume XIV from Bound for Glory: The Legend of the Lauderdales in America, 1786-1932.
Other elements of the photo are quite fascinating. The scribbled notation across the bottom clearly identifies this place as Herman’s Sandwich Shop, as you noted, located at 832 Poplar, and the proprietor — almost surely the gentleman standing behind the counter — as Herman Sanderson. A menu board advertising Goldcrest 51 beer (brewed in Memphis, as I hope readers know) gave patrons quite a variety of dining selections. There were all sorts of sandwiches, as you might expect: American cheese, pimento cheese, fried ham, salami, egg salad, and even goose liver (yum!), with nothing on the menu costing more than 20 cents. A hamburger and cheese (I guess the term “cheeseburger” wasn’t popular yet) was 15 cents, as was a barbecue sandwich. A hot dog was just a nickel. Breakfast was also available here, with Herman offering a tasty assortment of eggs, cereal, bacon, sausage, and even home-made chili.
In the photo, several men (one of them swigging a beer or soft drink) perch on stools bolted to a patterned tile floor. Simple tables and chairs are scattered in the back; this wasn’t the kind of place to offer cozy booths. A gumball machine sits on the counter, which also has cases and displays for Planters peanuts, packages of cookies and pies, John Ruskin cigars, and other products that I can’t quite make out. Ads and posters for Blatz beer, Wiedemann’s beer, and 7-Up are taped here and there, a phone is mounted on the wall, and far in the back is an old-fashioned radio.
So let’s talk about Herman Sanderson. As far as I’ve been able to determine, he was born in Alabama in 1899, and sometime in the early 1900s came to Memphis with two brothers, Arthur and Benjamin. Let me say right now that I assume they were his brothers; they showed up in the Memphis city directories about the same time, around 1918, they roomed together (for a while anyway), and they were involved in the restaurant business here from the first days they arrived. Herman and Benjamin were both listed as waiters for Levy’s Cafe, which had two locations — one at 349 Vance, and the other at 56 South Fourth.
In fact, during his first year in Memphis, Herman shared a room with Benjamin in the back of the Levy’s restaurant on South Fourth. That lasted until Herman married a young woman named Hattie Cook, who had been working here as a telephone operator, and they moved to a boarding house at 226 Court Avenue.
As the oldest brother, Arthur, it seems, struck out on his own, first working at a cafe in Cooper-Young run by a fellow named William Hawks, and later opening his own place, called Sanderson’s Sandwich Shop, at 112 South Third.
Meanwhile, Benjamin remained at Levy’s, where he had been promoted to manager, and in the late 1920s Herman began working for a lunch stand at High Street and Poplar. In 1930, he finally opened his own place: Herman’s Lunch Room, at 654 Poplar.
But he didn’t stay there very long. Just down the street, a little cafe had closed at Poplar and Dunlap. In 1934, Herman Sanderson moved there (832 Poplar) and opened the establishment you see here. It must have seemed a good location, tucked into a row of businesses that included Fields Beauty Shop, Gigi’s Barber Shop, the Sanitary Fish Market, Southern Watch Clinic (watch repairs), and Taccaro Grocers.
Across Poplar were Kroger, Liberty Cash Grocers, Gold Eagle Notions, and the oddly named Outlet Stores dry goods. Just across Dunlap was Carruthers Court apartments, so you’d think Herman would have had plenty of customers.
Benjamin joined the business in 1945, working as a night manager, while Arthur continued to operate his own sandwich shop, which had now moved to 32 North Third, next to the Sterick Building. By this time, Herman and Hattie had moved into a nice cottage at 1601 North Michelle Circle, in the Vollintine-Evergreen neighborhood.
Benjamin died in 1955 at the age of 66. That same year, city directories listed new owners at Sanderson’s Sandwich Shop, so I can’t say what happened to Arthur. Herman kept his own little restaurant going, but I wonder if he was bothered by the increasing competition nearby. His customers now had their choice of Neil’s Restaurant, Doug’s Grill, the Poplar Ice Cream Parlor, and Jake’s Cafe — all in the same short block between Leath and Dunlap. Perhaps this is why Herman’s Sandwich Shop closed sometime in the late 1950s.
By 1960, city directories no longer include that address, which makes me think the building was demolished. The next year, Sanderson’s Sandwich Shop on North Third became Wolbrecht’s Bar-B-Q Pit, so the 1960s marked the end of the Sanderson brothers’ restaurants in Memphis.
Herman took a job as an attendant for Parkrite Systems, which operated parking lots and garages downtown. He retired in 1970 and continued to live with Hattie until his death in 1975, at age 76. I couldn’t locate a death certificate for Hattie, so I can’t say what happened to her, and I never determined what role, if any, she played in Herman’s restaurant ventures.
Memphians who had enjoyed a good meal at the little cafe at Poplar and Dunlap for 20 years can still get a quick meal there. A Checkers stands on the site of Herman’s Sandwich Shop. The food is fine, but you sure can’t get a hamburger for 15 cents.
Got a question for Vance?
Email: askvance@memphismagazine.com
Mail: Vance Lauderdale, Memphis magazine, 65 Union Avenue, Suite 200, Memphis, TN 38103
