"Hot Shoppes" oil on canvas, ( 24" x 18") 2005Ah! the Hot Shoppes at Edmondson Village next to the Hecht Company was a “treat” destination for many west Baltimore families with children. It was strictly a cafeteria in my memory. There was no drive-in window as many of the ads and postcards proclaim. But it was different! Many have expressed to me that they loved the self-serve style of the cafeteria and the cheerful, social clatter of the patrons. A good friend confided to me that the reason she never ate there with her parents was because the Hot Shoppes did not have a liquor license. Her father enjoyed his glass of bourbon before an evening meal too much to make the sacrifice. Another woman told me that the reason the Hot Shoppes did not have a liquor license was because it was owned by members of the Morman church and they did not believe in such pastimes. I do not know about this at all but I have heard from many people that the man who eventually opened the Hot Shoppes started with some A & W Root Beer stands around the Washington, D.C. area. This man’s last name was Marriott. Now we all have been guests of his for a night or two at some point. Some of us may have consumed cocktails or gambled in his hotels perhaps.
People still rave about the “Mighty Mo” hamburger served at the Hot Shoppes restaurants. Recently someone gave me the recipe for the much revered sauce. I cannot say if this is the authentic version but it sure looks good to me. Bon appetit!
•1/2 cup ketchup
•1/4 cup chili sauce
•1-1/2 teaspoons A-1 Sauce
•1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
•2 drops Tabasco Sauce
•1/2 cup chopped sweet pickle
•1-1/4 cups mayonnaise
Combine ketchup, chili sauce, A1,Worcestershire and Tabasco . Add pickle to sauce mixture. Combine the sauce-pickle mixture with mayonnaise until well-blended. Store in a tightly covered container in refrigerator.
Postcard of drive-in restaurant from author's collection.
Back of postcard describing a "beautiful dining room" et cetera.
The kitchen at the Hot Shoppes at Edmondson Village.
Yes, the Hot Shoppe was actually attached to the Hecht Co. store which was built several years after Edmondson Village. The one I remember most was on New York Ave just inside Washington DC which is where we went to drink beer because the age was 18, not 21 like MD.
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