My Dinner With Vaky

In a recent blog entry about lady boxing promoter Fannie Edwards, I referenced an occasion where she and visiting out-of-towners took in the city of Shreveport and dined at Vaky's. It sounded like a special treat to eat there, which piqued my interest to explore what could be found about the restaurant and its owner.

Peter Vaky (1878-1937) was a native of Turkey (or Greece)* who immigrated to the U. S. in 1899, and came to Shreveport by way of New York and Mobile, AL. As expected, Vaky was not his real name (which was Varvakis), but one assigned by an immigration inspector at Ellis Island, which he retained.

Shreveport Times 31-Dec-1905, Page 11

Around 1905 he opened Vaky's Cafe, a confectionary, bakery, and restaurant that for several years existed at 310 Texas Street. It remained open very late or possibly 24 hours, as a social column entry mentions a group having a midnight supper there after attending a play. Vaky made special effort to emphasize this was an establishment that ladies would feel comfortable patronizing, which would explain why the three unescorted young women (Fannie and friends) would have dined there.

Shreveport Times 18-Apr-1909, Page 20

A 1912 advertisement.

Shreveport Times 11-Aug-1912, Page 6

The street view shown below was photographed sometime between when the Exchange National Bank next door opened 20-Nov-1919, and April 1922, when the restaurant was renamed.

Shreveport Times 29-Mar-1981, Page 1-E

In 1920, the Vakys moved to Corpus Christi, TX as supposedly it reminded wife Arsenoi (1884-1960), then in poor health, of the seashore in her native Greece. There they opened another Vaky's Cafe and an apartment building. Another person continued to run the Shreveport cafe, still billed as Vaky's, but ran into some sanitation issues the following year over charges of serving spoiled fish. Apparently still well regarded by patrons though, two successor restaurants linked themselves to the Vaky brand.

Shreveport Times 23-Apr-1922, page 24

Despite the contest mentioned above to come up with a suitable name, the restaurant was dubbed the (unimaginative) L & L Cafe. The following year it changed hands again.

Shreveport Times 18-Jan-1923, Page 11

Today the site is part of the Capital One Bank parking garage.


An interesting "rest of the story" - A son born in Corpus Christi, Viron Peter Vaky (1925-2012), became a foreign diplomat who served as U. S. Ambassador to Costa Rica (1972-74), Colombia (1974-1976), and Venezuela (1976).

* Vaky's 1909 passport application states he was born in Turkey, however Census records (e.g., 1920) and an interview with his son Viron state his birthplace to be Greece.

Fannie Edwards - A Lady Promoter Of The Gentlemanly Art

For  a few days in January 1913, this picture of a young Vivian, La. woman was in newspapers all over the United States. Fanny Edwards, 21 years old, was cited as being the only woman boxing promoter in the country, possibly the world.

Rock Island (IL) Argus Jan-1913, Page 3

A big boxing fan, Fannie regularly attended matches, and had brothers who participated in the sport. When she attempted to hold a contest in Vivian in December 1912, pitting heavyweights Kid Aubrey and Kid McCormick (Jim McCormick's brother), Caddo Sheriff J. P. Flournoy shut it down, citing licensing issues, as she was "borrowing"  someone else's charter (presumably doing all the work that would be covered by the other person's authorization).

That the promoter was a woman may well played into the stoppage, and certain townsfolk were opposed to the event, including the mayor. However boxing did have/does have quirky rules sometimes and other matches were noted to have been halted  for seemingly minor technicalities. [Writer's observation: It appears the sheriff and district attorney had wide discretionary powers to interfere or abstain as they saw fit.] After the district attorney sanctioned a fight held at Shreveport's Grand Athletic Club, it was reported a test case would be filed to determine if that city and Vivian fell under the same laws. The results of that case or whether it was actually pursued are not known. Despite the setback, Fannie expressed her desire to continue to pursue fight promoting. 

Little could be otherwise  found about Fannie. A Sep-1911 social column noted her having dinner at Vaky's Cafe in Shreveport and taking a city tour with friends visiting from Dallas and Texarkana. Earlier that year she had been a guest at The Inn (a hotel in S'port by that name). She reportedly operated a hotel herself as well as a hand-bill plant. She was manager of the Vivian band and had planned for the proceeds of the Aubrey-McCormick bout to help cover its  expenses. Whether she continued her promotion pursuit, got married, moved elsewhere, etc. is not known. Interestingly, a boxing promoter named E. M. Deam was arrested in Vivian a few weeks afterward for charges of theft of property and embezzlement in Amarillo, Texas. However no connection to Fannie was reported..

Apparently impressed with her audacity, a Shreveport Times reporter Fannie spoke with wrote she was "a live wire, and will probably succeed in whatever she goes after." I would like to think that is what happened.