White’s Restaurant & The Elbow Room – 33 Pitt Street East

in 1917 two Greek brothers Gus & Harry Lukos purchased a one story building on Pitt Street East housing White’s Cafe. In 1924 they built a 3 story building with a bowling alley, that became known as The Windsor Recreation Building. White’s was located on the ground floor. In 1938 the restaurant was renovated and modernized and the photo above comes from that renovation.

This inside view shows the staff along with Harry Lukos. The description says that the restaurant was styled in walnut, with chrome fittings, rose leather seats, modern mirrors, frosted wall lights and indirect lighting. There is also a walnut soda fountain and new lunch counter.

In 1949 a new tavern called the Elbow Room was established and opened November 3, 1949, on the restaurant’s 32nd anniversary.

The tavern was a popular place downtown, and along with the Commodore was where you could often find Detroit Lions Quarterback Bobby Layne. Lanye found the press would hound him when he went out for a drink in Detroit, and would often come to Windsor and drink in the relative seclusion and anonymity of downtown Windsor in the mid 1950s.

The Windsor Recreation building burned down in 1976. Harry Lukos passed away at age 86 in May, 1980 and is buried at Windsor Grove.