Shuller's Wigwam
6210 Hamilton Ave
College Hill, OH 45224-2009
About 50 years ago, Shep did many remote broadcasts from here for WSAI Cincinnati. They still had several of his pictures on the walls when the restaurant was owned by the Shuller family until it closed it's doors June 20, 2000.
It was opened in 1922 Max and Anna Shuller, who were Russian immigrants. It began as a six-stool hamburger stand and was immediately successful.
In 1934 they it expanded with a glass enclosed biergarten and, soon after, opened a unique tepee-shaped building that made it a landmark giving it its ''Wigwam'' nickname.
N 1954, the tepee was demolished and replaced with the current restaurant building, with two public dining rooms and 12 private dining/party rooms. But the name Shuller's Wigwam stayed. It has been a favorite site of reunions, weddings, family events and sports banquets.
After considering changes in 1997 to branch out, it became apparent that his son and nephew had no interest in continuing the business and Leo began to look for buyers, but ultimately decided to shut down.
According to Sal Shuller, after Jean would finish a radio show there late at night, he would brew a pot of coffee and sit up talking through the night right into the next morning.
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Fan Comments
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| [ Courtesy: Steve Glazer - 07-28-2016 ]
From an article about Leo Shuller and the Wigwam:
"I remember Jean Shepherd coming to work in a '52 MG TD convertible with a British cap and a scarf around his neck that blew in the wind with the top down in the middle of winter, laughed Leo. 'That was Jean." |
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Fan Comments
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| [ Courtesy: Jack Rothwell - 07-28-2016 ]
"Almost every night Shep rambled on about a diner, a guy dressed in a three-button black suit--no, he took pains to call it a "charcoal" suit-- who always carried a black umbrella, walked in, never spoke, and always had his onion soup. Shep then proceeded to imagine the thoughts of the mysterious guy as he consumed his soup. The great fabulist, of course, also loved to ramble on and on and entertain us with his often bizarre childhood tales." |
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| Additional Comments: |
| Shep talks about broadcasting from Schuller's on his March 30, 1966 show and mentions his engineer's name was Bob. |
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