Lisa's Nostalgia Cafe - Around Town in the 1930s


Dining Out In the 1930s, eating out was a rare treat. Married women were usually homemakers, and they prepared tasty, home-cooked meals for their families. For those who were hit hard by the Depression, having a restaurant meal was generally out of the question. When we did eat out, we could choose from snack stands, cafeterias, soda fountains, roadside cafes and fancy downtown restaurants.	-----
Automat History Meet Me At The Automat The Depression Cocktail.... when you didn't have a penny to your name, you could make a tasty drink using the free glass of water, ketchup and crackers provided by many cafes.		cafeteria style In New York City, the Automat* was popular with office workers, showbiz people and boardinghouse tenants. In 1939, there were 40 Automat locations in New York. *Bishop's was a cafeteria chain that offered free coffee refills....a new idea in the 1930s. Back in 1889, Childs* was the Manhattan restaurant chain that introduced the self-service cafeteria concept. By 1930, there were over 100 locations throughout the country providing good food at reasonable prices. Childs had the food service contract for the 1939-40 New York World's Fair.
hamburger joints roadside eateries drive-ins The White Castle* hamburger chain began in 1921. By 1930, it had expanded to over 100 locations nationwide. In 1919, the era of the drive-in restaurant was launched when the first A&W Root Beer stand* opened. By 1933, there were 170 A&W drive-ins across the country. In the South, the Krystal* hamburger chain was born in 1932, and Illinois gave us the first Steak n' Shake restaurant in 1934. Root beer stands selling Triple XXX Root Beer* and Stewart's Root Beer were very popular. In 1930, Harland Sanders opened a Shell service station in Corbin, Kentucky. He was an excellent cook, and soon he was serving meals in addition to dispensing gasoline. In 1931, he moved across the street to a gas station/motel/restaurant complex, where he set up the Sanders Court & Cafe.* Fried chicken was his specialty, and in the late 1930s he devised a way to make tasty chicken quickly, using the new pressure cookers that were just coming onto the market. In 1935, the governor made him an official Kentucky colonel, and today we know him as Colonel Sanders.		A&W Root Beer White Castle Krystal Steak n' Shake History Sanders Court & Cafe Triple XXX Root Beer Vintage Roadside Eateries
fancy restaurants fine dining Tips On Tables: Nightclubs & Restaurants New York City Restaurants In The 30s Trader Vic's In 1930, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel opened a roof garden restaurant. While creating some hot-weather dishes to serve at this new eatery, chef Louis Diat invented a cold leek-and-potato soup known as vichyssoise.* *Don The Beachcomber opened in Los Angeles in 1934, and the first Trader Vic's opened in Oakland in 1937. Both locations featured tropical decor and exotic drinks, which made them the first tiki restaurants. The Mai Tai was also popularized at both spots. When prohibition ended in 1933, many illegal speakeasies became high-class establishments frequented by cafe society.*		New York City The Colony Sardi's St. Regis Hotel: -------Maisonette Russe Hotel Algonquin: -------Rose Room -------Oak Room Maxim's Ritz-Carlton: -------Roof Garden 21 Club The Pierre Hotel: -------Cotillion Room Waldorf-Astoria: -------Empire Room Chicago Blackhawk Restaurant Henrici's Marshall Fields: -------Walnut Room Palmer House: -------Empire Room -------Chicago Room Ambassador East Hotel: ------- The Pump Room The Berghoff Edgewater Beach Hotel: -------Marine Dining Room Colosimo's Los Angeles Chasen's Don The Beachcomber Villa Nova
luncheonettes diners street vendors snack stands soda fountains * The lunch wagons of the past were fixing themselves in permanent locations and evolving into large, prefabricated diners. On your next visit to Coney Island, be sure to have a hot dog at Nathan's Famous,* or at Feltman's, where the modern hot dog was first sold! diner fare sandwiches meat loaf turkey spaghetti fried chicken pudding and PIE! ....always pie!		Early versions of the hot dog were first sold by German-American street vendors in the 1860s. The hot dog in its modern form was first sold at Coney Island in 1867. In 1939, Coney Island celebrated this American original by hosting National Hot Dog Day. Nathan's Famous
*A shopping trip wasn't complete without a stop at the local drugstore lunch counter!		Walgreens soda fountain
Grand View Point Hotel Jack Dempsey's Restaurant New York City Restaurants In The 30s		other restaurants In Pennsylvania, the Grand View Point Hotel* was shaped like a big steamboat and offered an awesome view of the surrounding countryside. By 1931, the three Brown Derby* locations in the Los Angeles area were famous for their star-studded clientele. The first Howard Johnson's* ice cream parlor opened in Massachusetts in 1925. Sandwiches were added to the menu, and by the late 1930s the chain was opening restaurants all along the East Coast. In New York City, patrons enjoyed dining at Jack Dempsey's Restaurant (1935)* and the Brass Rail. In 1937, Joe DiMaggio's parents opened a San Francisco restaurant named after the baseball legend....Joe DiMaggio's Grotto. Schrafft's was a popular chain of family restaurants that grew out of a handful of candy stores. By 1934, there were 42 locations, including several in New York and one in the Chrysler Building.
small town eateries from the Woodstock, Illinois 1938 town directory.... Benton Street Restaurant ("just good food") Holsum Restaurant Dixie Lunch Anna May Tea Room Riley's Cafe The Double Dipper The Igloo		1935 restaurant prices soup with bread..............................5c complete meal with coffee, tea --------or buttermilk......................10c to 25c 3 large pork chops..........................30c Click here for more restaurants from the 1930s!


this section is divided into 3 parts:	-----	-----
Shopping & Dining Restaurants, department stores and roadside establishments		Travel & Nightlife Ballrooms, hotels, motor courts, highway and train travel
Town & Country Views of city, small town and rural life


more 1930s topics Nostalgia Cafe main page Nostalgia Cafe site map	Around Town in the 1930s ============================================================ ============================================================ ============================================================