Florida Avenue Grill

In 1944, with all his tips saved up, Lacey and his wife Bertha were able to open up a small, humble restaurant right on the corner of Florida Avenue and 11th street in Northwest D.C. called the Florida Avenue Grill. Affectionately nick-named “The Grill,” the cozy restaurant didn’t occupy the full building as it does today, other businesses were alongside it in the same building in a kind of strip mall setup.