Morgan House

“Morgan House – the Rest of the Story”
After the photo of the Morgan House appeared in the June 2, 2004 issue of the
Englewood Independent, the society received numerous phone calls about discrepancies in the
story. Many of the individuals shared their own stories and we give you some of their
information here.
The photo article referred to Leon “Bud” Wirth and his wife Eleanor who “operated” the
restaurant from 1950 until 1965. Many readers thought this implied that the Wirth’s owned the
building when in fact they were leasing it or that they were the first to run the restaurant.
From Geneva Bragg: The Morgan House was built originally by Whitey and Elsie Ellis (or
some say Elsass). It probably opened in 1948 (Eva Woolery recalls having her wedding
reception in late 1947 in the unfinished building). The Ellis’s lived upstairs in an apartment
above the restaurant with their son Bobby. Geneva Bragg worked for the Ellis’s around 1954.
(The Ellis’s wintered in Florida and first Bobby, and then his father, drowned within a two-year
period). Geneva became manager in 1965, after the Wirth’s left and opened a restaurant in the
Thunderbowl bowling alley across the street. Geneva continued as manager into 1969 when the
property was sold to Joanne White. After the sale, the restaurant never reopened and was
boarded up. Sometime later, the Boy Scouts used the building for a “Haunted House” fund
raising project. Finally, it was deemed unsafe and torn down. The exact date of its demolition is
not known.
Geneva has promised more photos and she even has a “Moron” Badge that was
awarded to customers who could eat three “Moron” Burgers!