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| Florida State Archives |
By Jane Feehan
For a span of 30 years, beginning in the early 1950s, Creighton’s Restaurant was a familiar site on Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, near where the Galleria Mall sits today.
The posh restaurant, loaded with antiques and objets d’art, topped lists of places to celebrate special occasions. Its large sign, with “Home of the World's Best Apple Pie,” coaxed those unfamiliar with the place inside for a meal, if not to try the pie, which was actually quite good.
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| Florida State Archives |
The restaurant was owned by Charlie Creighton, who died in 1991 at nearly 91. It wasn't his only interest. His restaurant legacy includes: Johnson’s in Daytona Beach, Mammy’s Shanty in Atlanta and the Wedgewood Inn in St. Petersburg.
There was much more to Creighton than his restaurants.
In 1962, upon returning from a National Day of Prayer in Washington, DC, Creighton established a local day of prayer in what became the Fort Lauderdale Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.
Charles Creighton had many business interests. He helped found Holy Cross Hospital, opened the Sunrise Shopping Center (now the Galleria Mall) and developed property on Miami's Brickell Avenue.
For his restaurant and what he brought to the business table and to the city, Charlie Creighton occupies a significant place in the chronicles of Fort Lauderdale's history.
Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan.
Sources:
Miami News, Dec. 3, 1955
Sun-Sentinel, March 27, 1991
Tags: Creighton's Restaurant, Charlie Creighton, Fort Lauderdale history
Tags: Fort Lauderdale restaurant history, Charlie Creighton, Florida history, Fort Lauderdale history, Florida film researcher
