Jack's
Known Name(s)
Jack's
Address
9th & H Streets Sparrows Point, Maryland
Establishment Type(s)
Restaurant
Physical Status
Demolished
Description
The Sanborn Insurance Company Map Sheet 8 for Sparrows Point from 1935 shows that the corners of H and 9th Streets had row houses on each corner.
Detailed History
According to information found on https://reclaimingkin.com and a paper by Robyn N. Smith, “Life on the North Side: the African American Community in Sparrows Point,” the business was called Jack’s Snack Shop and it was run by James Alston from 1945 to 1949 after he took it over from his father, Willie. The Green Book listing continues to 1952. The business was located at the corner of 9th and H Street which was part of the “North Side’s” commercial strip. African American boarders who lived on the building’s second floor and worked at the Sparrows Point Steel Mill would get breakfast from the restaurant and waitresses would also make lunch. Because the Bethlehem Steel Plant owned the buildings in Sparrows Point, Alston was a tenant and employee of the company.
