Somewhere in old Houston, there was once a beautiful old Southern neocolonial mansion where people went for fried chicken. I mean, not just someone’s aunt’s house, though that happens a lot to this day. We’re talking about The Green Parrot Inn. 

Much like White Castle, Pizza Hut and, apparently, a war on frogs, The Green Parrot has its roots in Kansas. Wichita, specifically. Tena May Dowd opened the restaurant opened in 1925. Dowd had grown up on a ranch, having to fast-track her cooking knowledge after losing her mom at a young age. Her speciality? Fried chicken served with mashed potatoes, gravy, beans, rolls and honey butter, as well as Southern favorites such as congealed pear salad and celebrated chiffon and fudge pies. 

Dowd was a married woman, and when her husband was transferred to Kansas City in 1929 she shut the place down and opened up in KC at 52nd Street and State Line Road. Her family ended up opening two more: one in St. Louis and the other one here. There they got the formula down: Homestyle family favorites in portions that should have required freight charges. And the eponymous parrot? Well, I’m not sure if Dowd had an actual parrot but the family who ran the St. Louis location, the Toothman family, had an actual green parrot they kept on the porch to greet diners. That brings us to the Houston location. 

Houston’s Green Parrot Inn stood at 2314 MacGregor Way, near the Warwick Hotel (today Hotel Zaza) and the growing Texas Medical Center. Period postcards advertised the restaurant's fried chicken and steaks and identified Mrs. Vira B. Fredericks and Claude Fredericks Jr. with the establishment—Vira was the original Kansas founder’s sister. The restaurant ran from the early 1950s to the late 1960s. 

Houstonians who remembered the restaurant decades later recalled its Parker House rolls, famous chocolate pie and a mechanical bird in a cage that would be brought around after dinner and sing. Real green parrots can live up to 50 years, which is more than you can probably say about people who make a habit of eating fried chicken and chocolate pie all the time. 

This vintage postcard is unused and in excellent condition with sharp corners and rich color. The front image shows a verdant, luxurious scene from behind the restaurant with a grass-covered seating area nestled amongst old oaks draped with Spanish moss, magnolias, springtime flowers in bloom and white ornately designed iron chairs. 

Copy in the upper-left corner reads:

THE GREEN PARROT 

Of Houston, Tex. is internationally famous for its delicious fried chicken and K.C. Steaks. Located one mile due East of The Warwick Hotel, in a beautiful Southern mansion. 

Sundays 12 noon to 4:45 P.M.
Week days 5:00 to 9:30 P.M.
Closed Mondays
2314 MacGregor Way
Mrs. Vira B. Fredericks
Clause Fredericks Jr.
Phone JA 4-7903

That phone number is crazy, right? Those old numbers started with “exchange names.” The exchange was a place where actual human operators connected your call by plugging in wires. A number might be written MOhawk 5-1234 or JAckson 9-5678. The first two letters identified a local switching exchange and corresponded to numbers on the rotary dial—MO became 66, for example. This made numbers easier to remember and helped route calls. Exchange names were gradually replaced by all-number calling beginning in the 1960s, leaving the familiar seven-digit format. 

Copy in the lower lefthand corner reads:

Pub. by Alan of Houston
4508 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, Texas
6072B

The centerline copy reads vertically:

Genuine Natural Color Made by DEXTER PRESS, Inc., West Nyack, N.Y. 

The back is exceptionally clean for an item that’s likely 70+ years old. 

Details

• Original Green Parrot Restaurant postcard

• Houston, Texas

• Restaurant located at 2314 MacGregor Way

• Vintage mid-century restaurant ephemera

• Good overall condition

• Period Houston imagery

• Parrot sold separately*

*I have seen green parrots in the wild downtown, so, you know, maybe just catch your own.