Clark R. ("Red") Shelton owned Red's Rite Spot, a restaurant on Maynard Street.

Red's was in the space where Frank's restaurant is today. The layout and the food were similar to what Frank's has been offering since. Red and his crew were quite irreverent with customers but all in good fun. I am pretty sure that the building of the Tower Plaza was the cause of Red's closing. The construction closed Maynard for many months. One day I remember finding a sign in the window that said something like "Tuesday, Red went broke." A November 1968 Ann Arbor News story tells the tale.

A notorious publicity photo for the fourth ONCE Festival featured a "voluptuous nude reclining on the lunch counter of a well-known eatery called Red's Rite Spot." It was again presented to the public in an exhibition of artifacts on the 50th anniversary of the ONCE Festivals in 2010. note: That nude was political activist Martina Algire. [Michael Erlewine]

Actually, for those of us who are townies, Red's Rite Spot originally was not where Frank's is today. Instead, it was on E. Williams, and much smaller. It could sit maybe ten people. I used to go there all the time for a cup of coffee and a toasted pecan roll as only Red could make them. -- [Michael Erlewine]

 

    Red's Rite spot was a tiny diner owned by Red (Clark R. Shelton) on E. Williams, later moved back a few stores to Maynard, where it eventually became Frank's Restaurant, considerably larger. Only that first diner on E. Williams was the real deal, IMO. [Michael Erlewine]

    Red, who had red hair, ruled the place, and all the cool folks hung out there. I remember Don Koster (AKA Shawn Sheep), a liberal lawyer in Ann Arbor used to work there, and was a much beloved character.[Michael Erlewine]

    Red not only had good coffee, he made the best grilled pecan roll I have ever had. He would split the roll and both cut halves were grilled with butter. One of Red's grilled pecan rolls and a cup of coffee was all you needed. [Michael Erlewine]

    The picture above is Red’s Rite Spot on Maynard Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, about 40 years ago. My apartment windows are on either side of the 1hr CLEANING sign, so you can understand that even though I formally did not study greasy spoons when I was a student at the University of Michigan, I did absorb a full measure of hash-house soul wafting up all day, every day. Red’s is long-gone and the city’s tallest building, a condo complex, now stands on this spot, but I got to reminiscing about my A2 days thanks to a story by author Colleen Newvine in the alumni magazine about Ruth Reichl, Sara Moulton and me.

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