01/03/2009 ... Darlene Hardy Mercer remembers Louisville Sandy's!
Hi there,
I was thrilled to find your site tonight when I looked up Sandy's on a whim. I worked at the So.Third St. Sandy's from its opening in July or Aug. of 1968( I THINK it was Aug.) until my marriage in May of 1972 . Buzz Bruenig was the manager when the store opened and he hired and trained all of us, bringing Poplar Level employees to help out during the first few weeks we were open. The Poplar Level store manager was named Gary Something or other. He was with them a long time. I think the Poplar Level store originally hired only boys but I know that soon changed although I don't remember if it was before or after our store opened.
I left Sandy's briefly in late '69 to work closer to my college but by March of '70 I wanted to come back. In that 3-4 month period, Buzz had left and was replaced by Jerry Costin who hired me for the day shift. I loved that store. We had a really good bunch of kids who worked there and our day shift was overseen by a wonderful lady we all called "Mama". I remember her as being quite elderly but I have a sneaking suspicion she may not have been much older than I am now. Jerry managed the store until awhile after I left and then left to take over a Hardee's in the Atlanta area. I'm not sure of the date that happened or if he stayed with Hardee's. I imagine he's retired by now.
Anyway, I don't know anything about the Louisville Sandy's on Broadway that your site mentioned. There were never more than two stores in Louisville so I'm not sure if that was a planned one that never got built or what. Hardee's bought us while I still worked there but no visible changes occurred till after I left. They converted our store into a Hardee's but years later it was torn down and a new Hardee's built on the site. It made me sad since not only did I have fond memories of my co-workers and regular customers, it was also the place I met my husband. He came in for lunch, I flirted with him and 6 months later we were married. Another thing that makes Sandy's special to me.
Sorry this is so long but when I started typing, the memories just started flooding back. BTW, here is a link to the reason I started thinking about Sandy's tonight and looked you up. It's a movie video on Youtube. The interesting image is about halfway through--right around 1 minute and 20 seconds or so: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k1Xzn2xRy4
Good luck and I hope you keep getting more and more info on Sandy's. It was a great first job and trained me well in more than just flipping burgers.
Thanks,
Darlene Hardy Mercer
Sandy's 5009 S. Third St., Louisville, KY location can be seen on google maps. It appears from the satellite image that the original Sandy's building from at least 1967 was torn down and rebuilt as a Hardees at some point. It is now Indi's restaurant.
Incredibly, there is an Arby's on the opposite side of the road about two buildings down with the original Arby's sign out front! The building has been modified and added onto but it is an older Arby's building (probably not an original 1960's version) which can clearly be seen with the rounded roof construction.
Next door to Sandy's on the same side of the street happens to be a McDonald's with the 1970's design.
This architecture will most likely be torn down at some point and replaced with the modern square box design that McD has been rolling out for some time now.
Also across the street is a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sandy's location team picked a winner with their location judging by the businesses in the area! If anyone has a mid-1960's Louisville High School Yearbook from this area, please check the business sponsor section and see if Sandy's, a walk-up McDonalds, the Kentucky Fried Chicken original spinning bucket sign or the original build-out Arby's is in them. If so and if a scan could be provided, it would be terrific to add them to this site!
Above is the ad from the 1969 Holy Rosary yearbook. It would be the first edition that the Third St. Sandy's was in. Sandy's could also be in the 1970, 71, 72, and 73 editions. Since a lot of our work force came from Rosary, I imagine that they got hit up every year.
Iroquois and De Sales are likely possibilities too. Also, we had employees from Bishop David and Jesse Stuart. Not sure if they have ads in their yearbooks or not. I'll check if I get a chance at the Library.
St. Xavier was right across the street from the Poplar Level Store.
I have friends who went to some of those schools so I'll as them to check their yearbooks. Keep your fingers crossed!
Also, the McDonald's you spotted next to the Sandy's location is a latecomer. When Sandy's was there, there was a gas station on that site (the employees were our regular customers :-D ) McDonald's came after the Sandy's store made the switch to Hardee's.
The Arby's and the KFC were there while we were. I can't remember which came first but I believe that Sandy's was first or second -- not sure of the exact order. I do remember the KFC being robbed and getting strict instructions on how to handle a robbery if we were targeted. That was when Buzz Bruenig was still manager so it had to be before 1970.
Darlene Hardy Mercer
If you have any memorabilia, pictures or stories of Sandy's in Louisville, Kentucky or elsewhere, please email me!
