RIVERSIDE

     The Riverside Nite Club opened to the public on Saturday, December 12, 1936. The owners were Joe and Gertie Dvorak, and Ben and Georgia Kucera. However, the only name on the deed was Gertrude Dvorak, known as Gertie. She bought the ten-acre property from Vera Armstrong, the daughter of Oscar Johnson, Silverhill's founder. The deed was dated August 26, 1936. Click here to see a PDF file of the 1936 Deed Document.

The Riverside Nite Club. Gertie Dvorak is the woman to the left.

     They built a forty by eighty foot, Spanish style building using the Clay City tile blocks covered with stucco. The contractor was Ramsey Stuart.

     The dance floor was forty by sixty-five foot, with tables set around the edges. A raised wooden stage provided an area on which the bands could perform. The club was opened daily serving meals and sandwiches, but Saturday nights were their busy time.

     Newlyweds Walter and Rose Foukal, who had just moved to Silverhill from Idaho, both worked at the Riverside Club for a short time. Rose wrote letters to her family telling them about their jobs. She told them that a new place called the Riverside Nite Club opened on the Silverhill-Fairhope Road the middle of December 1936. She described it as really nice and Walter made $5.00 a night playing in the band. The club charged $1.00 a couple or $.75 for a single gentleman's admission. Rose was very excited when she got a job waiting on the tables around the dance floor. Her first Saturday evening she worked there she made $1.50 in wages. She continued to make those wages and an average of 50 cents in tips each Saturday night. Click here to read more about Walter and Rose Foukal and their family.

The Foley Onlooker, Thu. May 5, 1938

Nationally, prohibition ended in 1933. In Alabama, sales of alcoholic drinks began to resume in 1937. Joe Dvorak applied for a liquor license to serve draught or draft beer, which was granted in April of 1938. At the time, serving draft beer was only permitted in three other establishments in Baldwin County. In 1938, Alabama state law only allowed the sale of draft beer in communities where the foreign-born population was predominant.

This photo shows the inside of the Riverside Nite Club on January 5, 1940, two years after the club opened. Owner Gertie Dvorak is standing second from the left. Next to Gertie is her brother Joe Wesley. The calendar over her head says December 1939. The menu to the left of the calendar reads: MENU Hamburger plain 10¢ Roast Pork plain 10¢ Roast Beef plain 10¢ Liver Cheese plain 15¢ Ham plain 15¢ Sausage plain 15¢ Bacon plain 15¢ Amer Cheese plain 10¢ Swiss Cheese plain 10¢ Lettuce & Tomato 15¢ Egg 15¢ Ham & Eggs 30¢ Bacon & Eggs 25¢ Dessert Specialties 15¢

     According to their son Frankie Kucera, Ben and Georgia Kucera remained partners with Joe and Gertie Dvorak until Ben became Chief of Police of the Robertsdale Police Department in 1945. At that time, the Kuceras sold their portion of the business to the Dvoraks.

     May 10, 1956, the Dvoraks sold the ten acres and the nightclub business to Dale A. Raddcliffe. This time the names Gertrude and Joe Dvorak were both on the deed. Click here to see a PDF file of the 1956 Deed Document.

     The property changed owners two more times before "Rick" Gilbert Richard Gambino and wife Gari Gambino bought it on September 19, 1980. Previously in 1976, Rick had opened the popular Fairhope restaurant near the bay named Gambino's. His new restaurant, Rick's Place out on the highway, was only open a couple of years when it caught fire. It was a total loss. Click here to see a PDF file of the 1980 Deed Document.

Photos of the Riverside Nite Club 1936-1956 from the Dvorak photo collection.
Click each photo to enlarge.

Riverside Nite Club	Riverside Nite Club
Riverside Nite Club	Riverside Nite Club

     Following is a list of deeds for the property.

     FACTS

     Location: The Riverside Nite Club was on highway 104, outside of the Silverhill town limits, 2.45 miles west of the center of town. It was built on the top of the hill, on the south side of the highway, between Fish River and Perone Creek. This building no longer exists today.

     Interesting facts:

1. The nightclub was commonly known as The Supper Club.


2. Draught or draft beer was served there beginning in 1938. At the time, it was only permitted in three other establishments in Baldwin County.


3. School buses from two school zones used the club's large parking area as their bus route turning point.

Newspaper Clippings and Articles of
The Riverside Nite Club
Click each to expand and read.

The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Dec. 10, 1936	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Dec. 10, 1936
The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Dec. 17, 1936	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Feb. 18, 1937
The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Mar. 11, 1937	Fairhope Courier, Thu. Mar. 18, 1937
The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Jul. 1, 1937	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Aug. 12, 1937
The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Dec. 2, 1937	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Dec. 30, 1937
The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Dec. 30, 1937	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Jan. 20, 1938
The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Feb. 3, 1938	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Mar. 3, 1938
The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Mar. 10, 1938	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. May 5, 1938
The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Jul. 28, 1938	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Nov. 24, 1938
The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Jan. 12, 1939	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. Mar. 27, 1941
Fairhope Courier, Thu. May 8, 1941	The Foley Onlooker, Thu. May 15, 1941