From Mystic Tea Room
Public release of Cool Eateries!
- Patreon Release Date: December 14th, 2024.
- Public Release Date: December 14th, 2025.
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On this page we take a side-trip from vintage tea rooms and visit some unusual American restaurants of the early to mid 20th century. I selected them from my collection simply on the basis of their unusual architecture, decor, or furnishings. If you like this kind of thing, please let me know at the Lucky Mojo Forum and we will scan, clean up, and annotate another set. But first, some terminology:
One-Arm Joints
The term one-arm joint is slang for a worker's lunch cafe in which patrons are seated along the wall in rows of school-room type table-chairs with one arm wide enough to hold a plate or a bowl of soup, plus a cup for coffee, tea, or milk. Formally known as one-arm-chairs, these simple pieces of oak furniture were patented by James A, Whitcomb, who operated a chain called the Baltimore Dairy Lunch, and also manufactured portable typewriters.
Some of the best-known one-arm joints were those that were part of the White System, founded by Z. W. White in 1910, in both San Francisco and Seattle, with headquarters in the White Building, 122 Kearny Street, San Francisco. (In this context, the word System was the name used in the early 20th century to describe what we now call a restaurant chain.)
By 1922, there were 22 restaurants in the White System, all on the Pacific Coast: fourteen in San Francisco, five in Seattle, one in Oakland, one in Tacoma, and one in Portland. Eventually they were acquired by other chains -- Fosters and Hayes-Bickford -- and they disappeared from existence.
Some one-arm joints used the name Quick Lunch to describe what we now call fast food service, and some used the term Dairy Lunch to describe the type of food they served.
A circa 1910-1922 bowl for soup or chili made by Maddock and Sons for the Z.W. White Lunch System, featuring the company's logo, a one-arm chair-table.
Dairy Lunches
The term Dairy Lunch arose among kosher Jewish businessmen and workers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Jewish people abide by the Biblical injunction "Do not boil a young goat in its mother's milk," which we find in Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21. This is a wise prohibition among kindly pastoralists, simply because it is bad enough to have to kill young kids and lambs, but to boil them in their own mother's milk while the mothers are screaming for their babies is sadistic and cruel.
Over the years, this code of conduct hardened into a rule -- or rather, a set of rules. Some Hassidic Jews interpret the injunction to mean that you must never mix any milk with any mammal flesh on the same plate or even cook the two in the same pot. Others, particularly the Askenazi Jews, hearkening back to the original intention of the prohibition, will cook poultry or fish in milk or serve them with cheese because birds and fish never had mothers who gave them milk, so they are not being cooked in their mother's milk. A few even go so far toward literality that they believe it is passable to cook lamb in cow's milk or veal in goat's milk -- but they are in the minority. There are almost as many interpretations of this rule of kashrut, or right food preparation, as there are denominations of Judaism.
Most Orthodox Jews solve the problem by keeping two sets of cookware and dishware, one for meat and one for dairy and non-meat foods. The extra work and expense this entails for the family is part of their adherence to the cultural faith, and the burden of keeping kosher has traditionally fallen on the women, of course.
Baltimore Dairy Lunch coffee mug, J. A. Whitcomb, proprietor, made by the Iroquois Pottery, circa 1910-1920. This J.A. Whitcomb is the same man who invented the one-arm chair for use in one-arm joints. The relatively small area afforded by the chair-arm led to the rise of heavy-bottomed, narrow beverage mugs, in contrast to table service restaurants, where beverages were served in cups with saucers. Dairy Lunch restaurant ware often featured the image of a cow or cow head.
In America, as Jewish men began work in offices, schools, and factories, they either had to take a kosher lunch to work with them or find Jewish restaurants that were "strictly kosher" and kept two sets of plates (with blue lettering for "milk" and red lettering for "meat"). That is, until some clever person came up with the idea of the Dairy Lunch -- a restaurant where ALL of the food was "milk" -- a menu which can include fish, poultry, cheese, eggs, potatoes, bread, casseroles, sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, salads, coffee, tea, seltzer, cakes, pies, puddings, and milk shakes.
Thus was born the Dairy Lunch, a restaurant where Jews could eat in peace and even invite their non-Jewish comrades for a shared meal. Interestingly, when non-Jews heard of the Dairy Lunch idea, many of them thought, rightly, that the lighter meals served -- which they saw as vegetarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, or pescaterian rather than Jewish -- served healthier meals than conventional restaurants, so some Dairy Lunches were operated by non-Jews, as the fad caught on. Dairy Lunches, Quick Lunches, and Luncheonette restaurants in general, have all but disappeared in America as long-hour fast food restaurants have taken their place.
Not all one-arm joints were Dairy Lunches, and not all Dairy Lunches were one-arm joints -- but the overlap was significant.
Alabama
Selma Delicatessen, 225 Broad Street, Selma, Alabama, linen finish postcard front. For me the coolest thing about this place is that there actually was a Jewish delicatessen in Selma, Alabama. Who knew?
California
Bernstein's Fish Grotto, 123 Powell Street, San Francisco, Calif., "The Ship That Never Goes to Sea", postcard front. The text on the back identifies it as, "The most unique restaurant-front in America. The entrance to Bernstein's Fish Grotto faithfully follows in size and detail of 'The Nina,' flagship of Columbus." In the days before giant theme parks, every city, and many small towns, had restaurants that looked like something else. Bernstein's Fish Grotto was one of the best. The originator of this wonderful dining placey was Maurice Bernstein (1886-1932), a seafood dealer originally located in Oakland, California. He opened the Fish Grotto in 1912 at the end of the Powell Street cable car line. The interior was fitted out with seven different nautically-themed dining rooms -- the Pilot Room, the Main Salon, the Sun Deck, the Upper Deck, the Cabin Nooks, the Porthole Counter, and the Fisherman's Cave. I remember eating there many times and loving the place. Bernstein's had branch restaurants in other parts of California as well, but San Francisco was the stand-out. Their motto was: "A Fact! Fish caught at 5:00 AM served here the same day." I was disheartened when Bernstein's beautiful architectural novelty closed in 1981, but i am also happy to say that i keep the memories alive with a delightful Bernstein's Fish Grotto butter pat; the matching creamer can be seen at
PorcelainMadness.com, our restaurant ware sister-site.
Colorado
The Home Dairy Restaurant, 1629-41 Welton Street, Denver, Colorado, postcard front. This large establishment was three restaurants in one: The Main Dining Room, The Smoking Room, and the Annex. It expanded beyond the usual Dairy Lunch program by offering all-day and evening dining services.
The Home Dairy Restaurant, Denver, Colorado, postcard front. This card features a closeup of the Main Dining Room, with its delightful potted palms in the windowsill.
Indiana
The Busy Bee Dairy Lunch, 112 E. Washington St., Second Door East of Odd Fellow Bldg, Indianapolis, Indiana, real photo, postcard front. The busy Bee is certainly busy -- and not only is it a Dairy Lunch, it is also a one-arm joint! Two obsolete restaurant terms in one cool eatery.
Massachussetts
Huntt's Dairy Lunch, Nos. 16 and 18 Central Square, Lynn, Mass., postcard front. On the back we learn that this card was "Made by Chilton Company, Phila. Pa., U.S.A. 3761." This unusual image is reproduced from a photograph that was so heavily retouched it almost looks like a painting. Judging by the clothing styles, it was published circa 1905, during the major era of Dairy Lunch restaurants.
Michigan
The Pittsburgh Dairy Lunch, 22 Monroe Ave., Detroit, Mich., postcard front. This sparsely-furnished one-arm joint and Dairy Lunch features displays of fresh fruit and large soup cookers along the back wall, with cafeteria service for small bowls of items such as salads, jello, or custard puddings on the counter. It probably catered to workers who had very short lunch breaks.
New York
King Wah Chinese-American Restaurant and Bar, Huntington, Long Island, New York, postcard front. On the back is the printed message, "Serving the Finest Chinese and American Foods. On Jericho Turnpike, Huntington, L.I., N.Y. Tel. Cold Spring Harbor 2.0717. Published by Alan L. Dreiband, 98-40 64th Ave., Forest Hills, N.Y. Tichnor Quality Views. Reg. U.S. Pat. Off. Made only by Tichnor Bros., Inc., Boston, Mass." I like the tidy pseudo-Chinese architecture and the way that the bar is a little add-on to the main restaurant building.
Lou G. Siegel, Inc. 209 West 38th Street, New York City, NY, postcard front. This art deco moderne "Institution of True Merit" was a combination bar, grill, and restaurant marked by a large neon sign that featured a stylized Seagull (Siegel -- get it?) and a clock, which was photographed to show the hour of 2:00 AM, the closing time for bars.
Texas
Gaido's For Fine Foods, 9200 South Main Street, Houston, Texas, linen finish postcard front. On the back of the card we learn that Gaido's was located as the junction of "Highways 59 & 90A, South Side of Town, Phone MAdison 444. Featuring Seafood that is received Fresh Daily. Also serving Southern Fried Chicken, K. C. Steaks, Crabs, and Oysters in Season." This postcard was made by the "National Advertising Specialty Co., Tyler, Texas -- in Houston, call J. N. Blackwell Fairfax 2385." I count 21 colourful 1930s-1940s sedans in the parking lot! If Gaido's were still around, it would be a great place to stage a vintage car meet-up.
Washington
A 1915 photo of one of the many White Lunch restaurants on the Pacific Coast. This one is at No. 1310 of an unknown street in Seattle, Washington. At top-center we see the Z.W. White one-arm chair logo. The window signs read, "1310 White Lunch, Lunches Put Up" (we would now call this Lunches to Go or Take-Out Lunches) and "Never Closed." The latter makes it clear that this one-arm joint was prepared to serve those who worked the night shift.
catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
The Mystic Tea Room
Special thanks to my dear husband and creative partner nagasiva yronwode for illustrations, scans, and clean-ups.
See Also
