Fuller Meat Market

The Thomas Block, c. 1928. The 3 stores showing to the left of the automobile had been put into Thomas Block in 1924-25. The stores, left to right, tend to be Lemcke's Meat Market, George Bancroft's Community Cash food store and Charles Guis' clothes Co. The automobile is a Model-T Ford.

Rudolph Lemcke along with his market had been fixtures in downtown Littleton for sixty-two many years. His enterprise had been a more or less movable feast, as he occupied at least four or five locations. In October 1922 at the tender age twenty, he initially entered the beef market company by purchasing a half curiosity about Ed Fuller's meat. Half a year later he purchased away their manager and became the 100 percent owner. "Rudy" have been saving the income from his teen-age strange jobs and buying the stock market.

That first location was in a-frame building on southwest corner of Main and Prince streets. A later building on web site housed Littleton Stationers. Presently it really is occupied by Baskets by Karen.

Lemcke said that Fuller after that purchased him away. So he relocated to the east-end of principal Street in 1923 to offer meat at George Bancroft's Grocery.

A photograph taken about 1928 shows their market when you look at the Thomas Block on Main Street. That block had been only west of Rio Grande Park-now Bega Park. Their shop later on became the site of Workman Photographic Studios. He later on described those early days: "We used to waste considerable time creating coal fires within two stoves, also it took about an hour to shave ice and fix up our show case. In 1927 i got myself my first Frigidaire equipment, therefore we could begin cutting meat whenever we stumbled on work instead of messing with coal stoves and ice."

The Lemcke Meat Market's third area is uncovered inside the commercials into the Littleton Independent. In 1929 industry had been "next door to Piggly Wiggly." (surface beef had been twenty-five dollars per pound.) In 1931 he had been "with Piggly Wiggly." Piggly Wiggly grocery is at the southwest spot of Curtis and principal roads, with Lemcke's Meat Market inside eastern (part) store. The building ended up being known as the Lon article Block.

In 1938 he was "with Safeway, place, Main and Curtis." The food had changed fingers, but Lemcke had not relocated.

Came April 1939, and Littleton Independent revealed, "As the Safeway shop at Southern Curtis and Main Street is closing, Rudolph Lemcke, C. L. Moore and Louis Moore tend to be starting their particular office within the place formerly utilized by Clyde A. Rice." It absolutely was in the two-story building referred to as Kauer Block, at southwest part of Main and Nevada streets, built by August Kauer in 1899. George Malcolm had bought the building in 1935. He redecorated it and place in brand new floor coverings the brand-new occupants.

The 1939 city directory verifies that C. L. Moore Grocery and Lemcke Meat Market shared the west store (today 2510 West principal Street) while provider Drug occupied the east place of this building (now 2500 western principal Street.) This marked Lemcke Market's 4th area.

There has been some confusion about whenever Lemcke's Market arrived at its last place into the one-story building now numbered 2516 West principal Street. The next series of activities really helps to clarify this. Although Rudy Lemcke therefore the Moores leased the space within the two-story part building from George Malcolm because of their provided market in 1939, Lemcke had purchased the one-story building nearby western (today 2516 West Main) in 1938. It had been integrated the late 1920s or very early 1930s.

In 1940 or 1941 he added a frozen food locker plant into the rear associated with the one-story building. It was only the second or 3rd frozen food plant when you look at the condition. He apparently rented out the storefronts with other merchants.

Lemcke's Market stayed in the west region of the Kauer/Malcolm Building for twenty-seven years, until 1966. He changed its name to "Rudy's Grocery" in June 1961 when he bought out Louis Moore's grocery that were in identical building.

In-may 1966 Lemcke established his marketplace at its final area by closing Rudy's Grocery in the west half the Kauer/Malcolm building and moving one door west to the one-story building he currently owned. There he carried on his beef market and locker storage plant.

Verification for this time frame arises from Macy Dorf associated with the initial Two Potters. He has got stated which he and Larry Wright moved into the western front side of the two-story Kauer building, in which Lemcke was in fact, within the autumn of 1967. A shop providing leather-based and beads had been truth be told there just before Dorf and Wright, the "Two Potters."