Chaucer House opened in 1975, in what had been Al’s Flamingo—a restaurant & bar dating to the 1930s. Now vacant, (and likely to be demolished) it was most recently Wild Buffalo Grill. Just beyond the building is a former gas station that was owned in the late 1960s by a local Ku Klux Klan leader, Francis Xavier Edwards. Edwards and his minions once attempted to have dinner in this restaurant—in full KKK regalia. I’m proud to say that they were refused service and never welcomed back.
I worked at the Chaucer House for a short while in 1976-77. It was an okay place to work and the owner, Mike, let us eat for free.