Introduction
The bar at 202 South 5th Street had a long and interesting history. The bar was operated from 1920 through at least 1938 by Ludwig Buch, according to the 1920 Federal Census and the 1931 Camden City Directory. Ludwig Buch was born in Germany around 1864. At the time of the 1920 census he was a widower. His sons Louis, Carl, and Harry were at home, as well as an adult daughter, Mary McAdams, and her husband Harry. He remarried in 1920, after the census was taken. His wife Margaret Buch was well known in the neighborhood for her fine German cooking. She passed away in January of 1938. Ludwig Buch was still operating the bar at that time.
The 1940 Camden City Directory indicates that Elmer W. Orcutt was the proprietor. After World War II, the first published City Directory, that of 1947, shows the bar as Creato’s Cafe, run by James and Caroline Creato of Collingswood, NJ. John Creato, a WWII veteran and brother of James, managed the bar. John’s childhood friend, Rocco Vesper, also had a tavern in Camden, known as Vesper’s Cafe.
The New Jersey Bell Telephone Directories for 1956 and 1959 list the bar as Ray’s Tavern. The bar appears to have changed hands again shortly afterward, as an advertisement in the 1959 banquet program for Veteran’s Boxing Association Ring No. 6 states that “Ray and Frances” were then at My Friend’s Bar on Mount Ephraim Avenue.
The bar is not listed in the 1966 New Jersey Bell Telephone Yellow Pages. In February of 1967 the bar was badly damaged by fire. When the liquor license was up for renewal in June of that year, a corporation called Cambar Inc. was the applicant. The principals in Cambar Inc. at that time were Rose Swersky of Atlantic City, NJ, Ronald Goldstein of Cherry Hill, NJ, and Horst Stein of Philadelphia, PA.
A 1977 entry shows Roy’s Cafe, and in 1982 the bar was known as the Traveler’s Home Port. Another management change around 1991 resulted in the bar being renamed the C’est La Vie Lounge. A series of incidents which attracted the attention of the police and Alcoholic Beverage Commission authorities resulted in the bar being closed in the early 1990s.
202 South 5th Street was razed in the late 1990s.
Mrs. Margaret Buch Dies of Heart Attack
Camden Courier-Post —
Mrs. Margaret H. Buch, wife of Ludwig Buch, Camden saloonkeeper, died of a heart attack at her home at 202 South Fifth street, Wednesday night.
Mrs. Buch was stricken while on her way to attend a card party of the Parent-Teacher Association of S.S. Peter and Paul Church. She returned home and the last rites were administered by Father Austin before she died.
Mrs. Buch was known for her fine German cooking. She had been an active church worker for many years. The couple were married 18 years ago. Mrs. Buch was a member of the Altar Society, the Church P.T.A. and the Catholic Daughters of America.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. tomorrow at S.S. Peter and Paul Church. Solemn requiem mass will be said by Father Austin. Burial will be in Calvary cemetery.
John A. Creato
Camden Courier-Post —
John A. Creato, who managed Creato’s Cafe in 1947.
Photos
Ray’s Tavern at 202 Mickle Street, 1959 New Jersey Bell Telephone Directory.
Traveler’s Home Port Yellow Pages advertisement, 1981.