Linton’s was a 24-hour diner located on the “Golden Strip.” After their gigs, jazz musicians would hang out here, hold jam sessions to hone their craft, and exchange ideas. In an interview with All About Jazz, Jymie Merritt recalled:
AAJ: That sounds like great fun and very productive at the same time. Another general location at around the same time, as I understand it, was on Columbia Avenue [now Cecil B. Moore Boulevard- eds.] in North Philadelphia near Temple University. There was a restaurant called Linton’s.
JM: Oh, yeah. Right on Broad Street off Columbia Avenue.
AAJ: Yes, exactly. And were you involved with the guys who used to gather there?
JM: Yeah. I used to eat there. And when we’d finish eating, we’d leave a tip. And then Philly Joe [Jones] would go around and collect the money for himself as we went out the door. [laughter]
AAJ: So he’d keep the tips!
JM: He was really ingenious.
All That Philly Jazz 