Burns Corner & Texas Barbecue

One heck of a salesman:

Burns Corner was located at the intersection of Old Lake Road and Lake Road, at the East end of The Strip. It was operating in 1950 but disappeared by the early 1960s.

Like many of its neighbors, Burns Corner was owned by John and June Burns and was one of several sandwich shops on The Strip, offering “fast food” such as sandwiches and French fries.

Louis DiFabio, who operated a stand across the street from Burns Corner, remembered John Burns as a friendly, outgoing, and boastful person with a Tennessee drawl.

Burns had a hard childhood and adolescence; he began working at 14, washing dishes, and later worked as a carnival ride/game operator.

June Burns was a full-blooded Cherokee who was fonder of spinning stories at the barbecue and other shops on The Strip than working for her husband, whom she called “Burnsie.”

Two local newspaper articles tell of June Burns’ fascination with Indian lore. An undated article, most likely from the 1950s. states that “collecting Indian lore is a hobby of Mrs. Burns and she has in her collection books, spears and arrow heads, skinning stones, tomahawks, beaded bags, jewelry, leather items, and scarves which are all hand-woven. Included in her talk, Mrs. Burns told of the natural stones in the shape of teardrops, which are called Apache tears and are considered good luck when worn.”

From 1961, a Gazette article: “Program chairman, Mrs. Roy Fuller, introduced the guest speaker, Mrs. June Burns, of Geneva-on-the-Lake, who spoke on her Indian collection, a part of which she had on display. In a colorful Indian dance costume, Mrs. Burns explained the significance of the articles collected on vacation trips and visits to Indian reservations across the United States. She told of her Cherokee ancestry and the development of her interest in collecting Indian lore.”

This couple also ran a market, Burns’ Super Market, across from the barbecue stand, where the “Survivors” bar used to be. The store was known as Seaman’s Grocery Store prior to Burns’ purchase. It was also a Laundromat.

“I was amused with Burnsie’s Grocery Store operation,” wrote Louis DiFabio in his memoir. “He would advertise and sell ‘boiled ham’ at 39 cents a pound and beer at the ‘lowest price in town.’ Everything else was overpriced, and he did a lot of business. Some customers have said that when you ordered the ham, you somehow didn’t receive a full pound. When business was a little slow, the old Carny would be out in front of his store wearing a cowboy hat, waving and calling to people to come on in, just like the old (carnival) days. In the evening, he or his helper, Charlie Stokes, would stand out front with a flashlight and wave cars into his back parking lot for $1.00 or $2.00, depending on the crowd. He was one heck of a salesman and would do anything to make a dollar.”

Burns’ Corner later became known as Dave’s Barbecue, as evidenced by an ad from a 1960s visitors’ guide.

Peter Bozell of Cleveland purchased Burn’s in 1955.

Mary’s Kitchen continues to use Burn’s Texas Barbecue’s recipe for its sandwich.