Buddy's Restaurant

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Overhead view of the site of Buddy's Restaurant. Photo by Charlottesville Tomorrow.

Buddy's Restaurant was a restaurant located on Emmet Street near the University of Virginia that was owned and operated by Buddy Glover. It was the site of several Civil Rights demonstrations in the 1960s.

History

Buddy's Restaurant, touted as the "Biggest Little Place in Town," was established in the late 1930s by Buddy Glover, a former soda fountain clerk at Timberlake's Drug Store. Originally a simple hamburger stand, Glover expanded the restaurant after returning from the Korean War in the late 1940s.[1] During the 1960s, Buddy's became famous as the site of several sit-ins (participated in by individuals such as Virginius Thornton) protesting segregation led by community leaders Floyd and William Johnson as well as University of Virginia professor Paul M. Gaston. Although Glover at times served African Americans, he refused to serve the demonstrators participating in the sit-in. The demonstration, as well as the resulting violence that occurred, has largely been credited with helping to attain the desegregation of Charlottesville.[2][3] Some have attributed Glover's refusal to serve African Americans as an objection to the federal government's attempt to dictate who businesses served.[4] However, following the passage of the Civil Rights Act abolishing segregation, Glover closed Buddy's Restaurant and became a caterer.[3]

The site of Buddy's Restaurant exchanged hands several times before being acquired by UVA to house the Institute for Environmental Negotiation. In 2011, UVA moved the Institute to another location with plans of demolishing the site and creating an open space.[5] On November 29, 2011, the building was torn down in preparation for the coming pocket park.[6]

Location

Buddy's Restaurant was located at 104 Emmet Street


References

  1. Web. The Case of the Cash Register that Won't Open, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, Charlottesville+Albemarle History, retrieved June 19, 2012.
  2. Web. "Sitting In" in the Sixties, Paul M., University of Virginia, retrieved June 19, 2012.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Web. Buddy's Restaurant, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, retrieved June 19, 2012.
  4. Web. Buddy's no bastion of segregation, Rey Barry, The Hook, April 14, 2005, retrieved June 19, 2012.
  5. Web. UVa plans pocket park at site of old restaurant, gas station; Buddy’s played role in civil rights movement, Brian Wheeler, Charlottesville Tomorrow, August 6, 2011, retrieved June 19, 2012.
  6. Web. Busted Buddy's: UVA has demolished civil rights landmark, Hawes Spencer, The Hook, November 29, 2011, retrieved February 17, 2023.