National Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum
605 East 222nd Street
Euclid, OH 44123
USA
E-mail: Polkashop@aol.com
Phone: 216-261-3263
Toll Free: 1-800-66POLKA
Fax: 216-261-4134
For more than 50 years, Fred Hribar's Fritz's Tavern has been a popular stop on the
polka circuit for many of the Cleveland style's best-known bands. Fritz's Slovenian
upbringing included gymnastics with the Sokols' children's group and singing with
the Mladinski Pevski Zbor youth chorus. He also studied the violin and saxophone.
After learning his trade from his parents at the family's Welcome Tavern in Euclid,
Ohio, Fritz opened his own establishment in 1950 on St. Clair Avenue, Cleveland's
original Slovenian settlement. He built Fritz's Tavern on East 185th Street in 1954.
Fish fries and an all-star roster of entertainers made Fritz's one of the liveliest
polka spots in the city. Along with his wife, Ruth, Fritz has been a fervent supporter
of Cleveland-style music and Slovenian-American activities throughout his career.
He said his biography should be titled "Fifty Years Behind Bars."
Inducted in 1992
National Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame
Trustees Honor Roll Recipient
FRED FRITZ HRIBAR
1925 - 2001
www.polkafame.com © National Cleveland Style Polka Hall of Fame and Museum, 605
East 222nd Street, Euclid, OH 44123, USA.
