CityView Magazine

Saunders Drug Store In 1935, L.S. Saunders of Wilmington and W.M. K. ('Walker') Bender established Saunders Drug Store on Green Street. The shop was complete- ly remodeled in 1953 to include a new storefront at 201 Hay St. aſter the business changed hands and became known as Bender's. Walter's son, George, a second-generation pharmacist who is now re- tired, told how the sign over the corner store was made from black marble and the letters were etched in white. His dad saved money changing the 'Sau' to 'Be' to represent the Bender name. Hellenic Hospitality Many Greek families like the Skenteris' established eateries in town and their family names — Poulos, Kanos, Kalevas, Daskal, Manos, Kart- eris, Frangakis, Fasul and Boosolis — are still linked to Fayetteville's res- taurant scene today. One Fayetteville resident, whose father was an early restauranteur from Greece, shared her family's story: Dena Potter's father, Nick Fasul, happened upon Fayetteville in 1918 on Nick Fasul, one of the first Fayetteville Greeks the way, by train, to a wrestling match in Tennessee. He had heard about the vast expansion of the military base at Camp Bragg from a Greek man in Hamlet and Fasul knew, right then and there, that he could build a suc- cessful business here. Cutting his trip short, he cashed in his train ticket and set up business in Fayetteville. Fasul was sent over to America as a younger boy with his uncle who lived in Athens, Georgia. Since they shared the same last name, his fam- ily sent him over acting as his uncle's son, to avoid navigating the proper channels at Ellis Island, as his uncle had already done years prior. Aſter getting off the train, he was walking down the street and hap- pened upon two Greek men who owned The Central Café, one was Char- lie Kalevas and the other was Tom Havilas. They gave him his first job shortly before he opened his own fruit stand. Not much time passed be- fore he added a barbecue pit, located on Hay Street next to the post office, where the Arts Council now stands. That idea took off and Fasul opened his first restaurant down the street Ruth Poe's Crab Casserole at the 300 block of Hay Street and called it Steve's Restaurant. He named it aſter his oldest brother who had fought for the U.S. Army in France during the first World War. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were served at Steve's Restaurant, but it was also advertised as the first air-conditioned business in Fayetteville. Potter said they had a huge chunk of ice on top of the building and a fan blew on that, directing the cooled air into the store. In 1936 Fasul went back to Greece to marry Eleſtheria, whose name means "liberty". He brought her back to Fayetteville aſter the wedding. Potter said her mother loved her life here as a homemaker to four young girls, and she oſten entertained the other Greek families who came over to partake in traditional Greek foods and coffee. Like many of the Greek families who settled here, the Fasuls attend- ed the annual Greek church service for Easter in Raleigh, but St. John's Episcopal was their home church in Fayetteville. They celebrated the tra- ditional Greek holidays and maintained many Greek traditions in their homes. Potter remembers celebrating 'Name Days', rather than birthdays. On the birth date of the saint each child was named for, the families would get together and partake in a large feast. "One lady who came over on Name Days always brought her rolling pin and she would roll out the thin layers of the phylo as her mother would layer them with the feta cheese, butter and spinach mixture," Dena said. "She was amazing to watch, they were time consuming to make." CV ¼ stick butter 1 TBS finely chopped green pepper 1 TBS finely chopped celery ¼ C flour 1 C half and half 1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt 1 tsp 2 or 3 drops hot sauce 8 oz. crab meat Buttered breadcrumbs and cheese Saute vegetables in butter on low heat until tender but not brown. Stir in flour until well blended. Add half and half (or milk if preferred). Cook stir- ring constantly until well blended. Add seasoned salt, Worchestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Stir in 8 oz. of crabmeat. Put in two individual casserole dishes. Top with buttered bread crumbs mixed with 2 TBS grated cheese. Bake at 350 til bubbly and brown. Serve hot. Serves two. (Note: canned or fresh crabmeat can be used. Doubled or tripled.) CityViewNC.com | 27

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