The Blue Light / Sam's Quik Shop

The Rathskeller was beneath Tops Drive In. I believe it was more frequented by Duke students than by locals. Tops was located in the shopping center that faces Broad St. The shopping center was anchored by an A&P grocery. Topps was at the south end behind what was then a Phillps 66 gas station at the corner of Broad and Main. Both Topps, and the Blue Light offered in-car dining. The Blue Light even delivered beer to the car. Many of the drive ins had the servers using roller skates.

The large house behind the Esso station was a well know "liquor house" that seemed to get a wink from the local law. It was known as "Ollie's" and I believe was operated by a fellow named Ollie Estes.

In the 60's, teens would drive from Topps to the Blue Light to see and be seen, occasionally venturing out Guess Rd. to Honey's drive in, and down to Avondale Dr. for a run through the Oh Boy and Shoney's drive ins.

CB radios were popular with the locals in the 60's and often we would go to Shoney's for lunch with the first arriving using the speaker on the menu sign to place the orders for those enroute who called their order over the CB radio.

It was Happy Days.

My husband tells me of the extensive basement that lies below Sam's. he always says its about 5 basements worth, and goes down deeper and deeper. He always feels privelaged to have gotten this tour late one night after closing.

Wow, I somehow missed that Sam's was on the chopping block. Thank god it fell through, Sam's may be the single best thing about living in Durham. Seriously.

What was the actual reasoning for putting a train station here, when the Jetson's Bus Station and the new Amtrack station are over by Chapel Hill St.? They had already been setting that area up as the "transportation hub," so I can't imagine why they'd want to put a major station several blocks away. When the old Amshack station shuts down, there's going to be a nice vacant lot to fill over there...

GREAT post!

It appears as if the original Esso station was torn down and replaced with the car wash (or at least the car wash is where the Esso station once was). Any idea when the station was demo'd? Where was the miniature golf course?

So glad the TTA isn't going to destroy this place, as its beer selection is amazing (and its prices are great too).

Mmmm... beer...

Several years ago I was lucky enough to get the old jukebox that was in the basement of The Blue Light. Had to bring it up from the basement on the old service elevator which had not been used in years--pretty scary -and fun !!

As a freshman at Duke in 1965 I had an "older woman" take me there (she was probably 23 or so. Sorry, can't share the rest of the story but very memorable recollection of the Blue Light! Thanks for the post.

More memories of the Blue Light...

Hello West Durham. My name is Lois Ramsey. I was born in Durham on May 25, 1935 to J.D. and Nettie Carden. I was born on Edith Street. My mother and father worked at Erwin Mills. I grew up in West Durham and went to E.K. Powe School. We lived on Case Street in Monkey Bottom. I went to work for Sam Boy at the Blue Light around 1956. When I worked there the Esso Station was going full force also. This was also owned by the Boy Family. By this time I had married and was Lois Bennett.

I worked at the Blue Light when we had car hops (good old days) I remember one young man Ervin Hester who later became a newscaster for WTVD. He a was a very ambitious young man. Sam had a room down stairs at the Blue Light called the Ratskeller. I worked the evening shift from 4PM to midnight. When I would get a break I would go through the kitchen and take the freight elevator to the basement to look in the room. The Blue Devil football team hung out there. I had the pleasure of meeting Sonny Jergenson there who later went pro and played for the Redskins. I also got a friend of mine a job there, Gladys Carrington who still works for John Boy at the Quik Shop. This is the only job Gladys has ever had. I met my present husband while I worked at the Blue Light. He was working for Daniel Construction Co. They were building the Biological Science Building at Duke University he was the field engineer. So you see the Blue Light has a special in my heart as does Sam and Gerry Boy. I am proud of my heritage and my home town.

source: http://www.owdna.org/snaps8.htm

Can't recall Topp's having a basement. Frequented Topp's steadily from 59-63 during my high school years. The cruising during that time was Topp's to Blue Light to Honey's and to Northgate Dairy Mart (on Roxboro Rd) and occasionally to Shoneys (on Aondale). Looked old enough during that time I could actually order and get a beer at the Blue Light, probably when I was 16. Never set foot inside the Blue Light until the mid 90's looking for some out of state newspapers and of course it had been converted to Sam's by then. There was one other place during that time good for a cold beer and some decent BBQ, and that was The Forks which was located between Holloway (Wake Forest Rd) and Miami Blvd where they cross, seems like there is a chicken place there now. Gary, you hear it quite frequently but just want to say thank you again for doing such a wonderful job with Endangered Durham.

I never knew that there was place under the Blue Light called the Ratskeller. It must have closed by the time I got here (late sixties) because I and my various disreputable and disorderly friends got to know most of the dives in Durham.

For a long time there was a bar called the Hofbrau under Topps. As the name implied, it had a pseudo-German decor with fake stained glass windows showing merry peasants speaking pidgen German: "Wir drinken bier und maken musik," or some such. But it was a good place to consume a pitcher (or more) with friends.

John Martin is right about the Hofbrau, I think it was The Student Prince Hofbrau, but my memory is fuzzy. I do not recall ever knowing about the Ratskeller under the Blue Light. There was (is?) a Ratskeller in Chapel Hill.

Rik:

Alas, "The Rat" in Chapel Hill closed a couple of years ago and is still vacant. You haven't lived unless you had the Gambler, preferably before your arteries turned 30. Head lettuce with french dressing (no subsitutions) the sizzling platters of flank steak (single, double or triple), equally greasy french fries, garlic bread and sweetened tea. The waiters had all been there at least 20 years.

Pretty much all I remember from the Blue Light is having PBR talls delivered to my car while necking with my girlfriend.

My mom was at Duke during the late-40s to mid-50s, when she got her grad degree. When we came down here, she made it a point to take us to see the Blue Light in Durham and "The Rat" in Chapel Hill. Loved the food at The Rat and was very disappointed when it closed.

Is there any connection between the Durham Rathskeller and the Chapel Hill Rathskeller? My father attended Duke around 1969-1971 and remembers going to the Chapel Hill location. Did it move at some point?

David N

Pretty positive NOT the same one. The Chapel Hill "Rat" goes back to at least the '50's.

I remember going to the Hofbrau in the late 80's and early 90's to see bands and drink beers as a teen. It was underground to the left of what is now Whole Foods.

Rathskeller in Chapel Hill was a great dive to eat at as a teen as well. I hate to see old places like this close.

I always heard that Sam's Quik Stop formerly Blue Light was a lunch counter/drug store type place.

I used to pick up kegs of Stroh's beer from Sam's (and also Jim's Party Store) back when I was at Duke as an undergrad in the late 70's/early 80's. Now they have a lot better beer selection then back then. And I can actually afford to buy better beer too, since I have a job, more or less.....

My father, Pappy, was night manger at Sam's in the 70s and 80s, remebering going thre for candy and a drink. He loved working there and talking to all the students from DUKE.

Does anyone remember Tops Top Topper Time and Shoney's Show Time ? These were productions put on by WSSB 1490 AM during the time of Gary Edens and Charlie Brown.