HISTORY CORNER

ROTIER’S RESTAURANT

BY RIDLEY WILLS II

John and Evelyn Rotier started Rotier’s Restaurant in 1945 in a building on Elliston Place that earlier had been a carriage house for Burlington, a palatial home built in 1850 by William R. Elliston.

Originally called Al’s Tavern, Rotier’s Restaurant started as a beer joint with pinball machines and cheeseburgers. One of those who frequented it was Leo Lon, the veteran coach at nearby Father Ryan High School. In the summer of 1951, Leo met his friend Howard Allen at Al’s Tavern soon after Allen had been fired as MBA’s coach by headmaster Richard Sager. Leo told Allen that, if he came to Father Ryan, he could take his place as head football coach and Leo would coach the school’s basketball team. Allen did so and coached the Ryan football team for two years before moving to Texas.

Among the many Vanderbilt students who frequented Al’s Tavern was Clarence “Babe'' Taylor, an SAE and a Vanderbilt basketball star. At least once, Babe had a beer at Al’s Tavern not long before going to Memorial Gymnasium for a game.

In time, Rotier’s became a full-scale meat and three restaurant. John and Evelyn had three children, John Jr., Margaret and Charlie, who worked there with their parents.

When John Jr. took over, Rotier’s specialty was a cheeseburger on French bread. By 1973, John Jr. changed his restaurant’s name to Rotier’s. The restaurant also received a national award from USA Today and recognition from Food Network Magazine.

Before reaching its 75th anniversary in 2020, a third generation of the Rotier family was in charge.

In 2021, all the good times and good food came to an end as the building and ones adjacent were acquired by a developer who plans to build a high-rise in the triangle between West End and Elliston Place.