Grandview Heights Marble Cliff Historical Society
By Lucia Delewese McQuaide
Reporting done by David Allen
In the early days when my grandpa, Rocco Delewese; his brother, Sam Delewese; and their brother-in-law, Guy DeVictor (married to Rocco and Sam’s sister Donata), owned it, it was a restaurant and had a huge back room.
In the early ’50s when my dad, Frank Delewese, and brother, Aldo, took it over, it was much the same but got updated. This building sat on the corner and extended to where El Vaquero is and the property where Bob Evans is, and in front of and behind the building was parking.
In (the) left half of the building was a huge horseshoe-shaped bar and booths and tables. More formal dining was off to the right and behind the booth area. As you continued through the booth area, you went through some doors and into the back room. It was set up with a huge floor, part of which came out of the ground for floor shows. Behind the floor was a tiered red velvet bandstand. To the sides of the floor were also tiered areas with tables. The back room sat about 500. It was used for entertainment, banquets and weddings.
In the ’60s, when my cousin Judi and I were teenagers, there were teen dances, hootenannies (sing-alongs) and college nights. At one point, we painted the back room black after the (Rolling) Stones song “Paint it Black.” Of course, the song “Gloria” was a big hit then, too.
In the early ’70s, the corner was sold and Dad and Uncle Aldo opened a smaller place where El Vaquero currently is.
What did I do there? I am Frank’s daughter and an only child. My mom was the day cook, so I spent a lot of time at the restaurant when I was young (6 years old when they took it over). Also as teenagers, Judi and I auditioned the bands for the teen dances. That was great fun. The Trolls, The Dantes, Sir Timothy and the Royals, and the Fifth Dimension all played at the Gloria.
All of our family weddings and major life events were celebrated at the Gloria.
The Gloria was one of the longest-running restaurants in the area. People came from all over for Gloria Fried Chicken (“takes 35 minutes to cook,” it said right on the menu), Gloria sauce on spaghetti, and lasagna, veal scalopini and shrimp salads. To this day, if I meet someone older and they grew up in Columbus, I ask whether they know the Gloria, and they do.
Skyward brings the corner back into the family. Just like the Gloria, the owners work there (Jennifer, who is my goddaughter, and Mike). The food is specially prepared – no rushing, just like it was with Gloria fried chicken. They cater to all ages, and especially families with the kids meals named after their own children.
Reporting by contributing writer David Allen. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com
July 8, 2014: A look back at the historic restaurant, venue
