Honest Joe’s
Nobody outside his family knew his real name. Dallas knew him as Honest Joe. For nearly three decades Honest Joe’s pawn shop was one of the central hubs of activity in Deep Ellum. He sold everything from gold watches to prosthetic limbs to automatic weapons. His two-story building was covered in hand-painted signs and hubcaps – or was it? It was covered in signage and hubcaps, but as for the two-story part . . . well, that’s another story . . .
Rubin Goldstein moved from New York to Dallas in 1931 to join his two older brothers who had already set up shops in Deep Ellum. One of the common Jewish businesses of the day was the pawn shop, and Deep Ellum already had more than its share, but maybe it had room for one more, especially if it was run by an ambitious marketer extraordinaire. Enter Honest Joe.
With a wave of his hand and a newly crafted wooden sign, Rubin Goldstein had become Honest Joe. The sign actually read, “Honest Joe, Loan Ranger”. As the story goes, a skeptical lady was weighing the integrity of the place when a regular customer, Little Jimmy, chimed in, “Don’t worry, lady. This is Honest Joe”. He eventually attracted customers like Sammy Davis, Jr. and other Hollywood actors, the Dallas Mayor, and many Dallas locals. Even Jack Ruby (of Lee Harvey Oswald fame) bought items for his Carousel Club here, including tables which were eventually repossessed since Jack apparently had no intention of ever paying for them.
Joe’s marketing prowess was legendary. Having his store front totally covered in signs wasn’t enough. He also bought an old Edsel and painted large Honest Joe’s signs on each side, then mounted a very large decommissioned machine gun on the roof. Not only did he drive this around town, but on November 22nd, 1963, when he saw the crowd downtown for President Kennedy’s motorcade, he got a spur of the moment idea. People were lined up along the downtown streets and traffic down Main Street had been stopped, but Joe had found a way. Minutes later, there was Joe on a long slow drive through downtown, machine gun and all! He was eventually pulled over; questioned by the FBI; and escorted off Main Street. There are several photos of what is believed to be his car behind the fence just behind the Grassy Knoll, which of course, has driven many conspiracy theorists crazy for years (it’s still easy to find this on discussion boards). He was even mentioned in the Warren Report for these antics.
In another strange twist to this story, Honest Joe aided the Warren Commission’s investigation by providing them replicas of the gun used in the Kennedy shooting. Two years later after Jack Ruby died in prison of lung cancer, Honest Joe also found himself as one of the appraisers of Jack Ruby’s estate.
Much earlier in his career than the Kennedy events, a customer asked him, “what do I have to do to get $20? Give you my right arm”, as he placed his prosthetic right arm on the counter. Actually Honest Joe claimed he was helping out the man who was out of work and out of money, and would redeem the arm when he was back at work.
Honest Joe’s favorite sign at his shop displayed his personal motto “YCDBSOYA” (You can’t do business sitting on your Afghanistan). His shop was always among the busiest places in Deep Ellum with both shoppers and loiterers hanging around in the one area of town that blended cultures, racial and religious, with BBQ joints and delis side by side.
One day a customer nicknamed “Hook,” who had lost both of his arms, was arrested for pick-pocketing. Honest Joe helped him get off the “hook” by testifying that both of his prosthetic arms were in hock at the time the crime was committed.
GROUND ZERO
From the outside of Honest Joe’s, the building has always looked like an ordinary two-story brick building. The rumors for years had been a little bit different. During prohibition, it was rumored that there was actually a third story in the building that functioned as a speakeasy, accessible by a staircase in the rear of the building. The story went that in the early 1930’s, the Dallas police raided the place and watched patrons of the bar scatter. The police then bricked up the entrance, so the story went. The question was: was any of this true. From the front, sides, and back, it looks like a typical two-story building.
Fast-forward to the 1960’s, and the City of Dallas began to elevate the section of I-75 right next to Honest Joe’s. This project required unroofing part of Honest Joe’s. As three generations of Goldstein’s looked on, they watched a demolition crew tear down what was believed to be the brick barrier erected by the Dallas police. As the wall came down what did they see? They found the very well-preserved remains of a white and black tiled speakeasy that looked as if they had stepped back in time and the raid had just occurred. There were empty beer bottles and wine glasses scattered about along with paper betting slips and a list of phone numbers taped to a post. The bar was still there, and even a quiet jukebox sat in the corner, full of vintage records and coins.
POSTSCRIPT
The neighborhood declined considerably throughout the 1960’s. Many of the shops had closed and others were just hanging on. Honest Joe passed away in 1972, and his wife, Bess, kept the store open until 1985. Honest Joe and his wife would be proud to find that one of their granddaughters has renovated the original building and started a very successful business that helps encourage and support those who want to live in and around Deep Ellum, thus helping the revitalization of this area.
Inside the building, right next to the front desk, hangs a picture of Honest Joe’s storefront circa 1959. For those who make it up to the third floor, there is an archway surrounded by red bricks. This is the last vestige of the speakeasy above Honest Joe’s.
ADDENDUM
Interestingly, down the street from Honest Joe’s was Rocky’s Pawn Shop, owned by his older brother, Isaac Goldstein. On October 13th, 1980, John Hinckley, Jr. went to Rocky's and purchased the cheap handgun that he used in his assassination attempt of President Ronald Reagan on March 30th, 1981. Rocky’s sold more guns than most pawn shops in part due to Isaac’s clever marketing in which he advertised his business as both a pawn shop and as “Rocky’s Police Equipment” both on the building signage and separate Yellow Page ads. The sign above his front entrance which read “Guns don’t cause crime any more than flies cause garbage” didn’t stop him or his family members from getting numerous threats, including death threats, after the Reagan assault. The local businessmen all supported Isaac, insisting that he had done nothing wrong. In fact the President of the Texas Pawnbrokers Association said, ''People that call up Rocky and threaten him are just as kooky as the guy who shot the President. The gun could just as easily have been one from my pawn shop.''
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Addendum, new photos, and a note about sources:
Adding a couple photos to the gallery - you can scroll through and find them. I couldn't ever find a photo older than 1973 for Rocky's Pawnshop, which is a parking garage now (2018 Elm St.). ..
I got a lot of the info for the cache page description by interviewing a couple people who knew Honest Joe well, including multiple family members.
A bit more trivia for those interested: Honest Joe's son-in-law worked as the junior partner in a 2-man law firm that represented Jack Ruby's personal and business issues (civil issues). They helped structure several of his clubs to help creatively work around the laws regarding exotic dancing and alcohol sales. Ruby also gave them the handgun he used to shoot and kill Lee Harvey Oswald. It remained in their safe deposit box until the FBI legally obtained it's custody throughout protracted court proceedings. They also recommended the legal counsel that represented him in his criminal case for shooting Oswald.
The photos added: 1. Honest Joe's machine gun Edsel (may have to zoom in to make out the gun) 2. Ruby's Carousel Club on the 2nd floor above a BBQ joint. After his arrest, the club closed and the Dallas Police rented out the place for fitness training. The girls' changing room became the men's lockers, and th dance floor became a boxing ring. The building is still on Commerce, but it looks unrecognizable now. 3. Jack Ruby and 2 of his favorite girls are ready for business. The blonde on his right arm is Tammi True, a longtime Carousel Club headliner. Ruby's most well known girl, however, is the famous Candy Barr, his long-time squeeze and featured dancer at Abe Weinstein's Colony Club. Candy is also famous for shooting her second husband; serving 3 years in prison for drug possession; starring in pornographic movies and magazines; and, of course, being named by Texas Monthly as one of history's "perfect Texans"! Hope you enjoy the offbeat Dallas history. Feel free to add your own in your log.