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|name=H&O CaféRestaurant

|mapcode=<googlemap lat="30.424817" lon="-87.213689" zoom="16" type="map" width="288" height="200">30.424771, -87.213684, H&O Café</googlemap>

The '''H&O CaféRestaurant''' (also known as the '''H&O Cafe''') is a historic restaurant in the [[Eastside]] neighborhood, located at 301 East [[Gonzalez Street]], at the corner of [[Hayne Street]]. One of the first black-owned restaurants in the Pensacola area, <ref>*[http://www.ci.pensacola.fl.us/upload/PDFs/CommunityDevelopment/Eastside%20Action%20Plan%20-%20draft%203.pdf Eastside Neighborhood Plan]</ref> the H&O serves Southern-style [[Wikipedia:soul food|soul food]].

Its origins go back to the 1920s, when [[Hamp Lee]] and his brother opened a grocery and pool hall in a building on [[Gonzalez Street]]. They named the businesses H&O by combining the first names letters of their wives' names, "Hattie and Ola. " (Another explanation is that it stands for "Hamp and Ola.") The location was popular among the [[Segregation|pre-integration ]] black community. In [[1942]], [[Givens Grier]] purchased the building and opened the restaurant. Grier's brother, [[Raymond GrierSr.]], bought the café in [[1957]]. When he passed away in [[2001]], his wife [[Dorothy Grier|Dorothy]] took over operations.<ref name="pnjprofile">"H&O Café." ''Pensacola News Journal'', April 29, 2007</ref>

The H&O is currently managed by [[Michael Grier]] (owner Dorothy Grier's son) and [[Chris Christa Grier Holmes]]. Grier announced  On [[July 18]], [[2007]], the building was temporarily closed by a fire that started around 9:45 a.m. when a pot of lima beans boiled over and ignited cooking grease. (A similar fire had damaged the building in September 2007[[1972]].) The cost of damages was initially estimated at $30, to celebrate the restaurant000.<ref>"Fire closes H&O Restaurant." ''Pensacola News Journal''s , July 19, 2007.</ref> Grier had previously announced a 65th anniversarycelebration for September 2007, during which they would roll back menu items to their original prices, but the restaurant remained closed.<ref name="pnjprofile"/> After renovations were made, the restaurant reopened on [[January 11]], [[2008]].

Prior to the late 1990s, H&O operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The restaurant remained open 24-hours on weekends until [[Hurricane Ivan]] struck in [[2004]]. It is currently Before the 2007 fire it was open 8 a.m. to 5 or 5:30 p.m. seven days a week.Its new hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.<ref>"H&O Restaurant plans December reopening." ''Pensacola News Journal'', November 29, 2007.</ref>