New York Tea Rooms

New York State Tea Room Gallery, in alphabetical order by name of city or town.

Buffalo, NY

McGeralds Tea Room, Buffalo, New York, postcard front

McGeralds Tea Room, Buffalo, New York, postcard back

East Aurora, NY

Roycrofters Tea House, and Reading Room, East Aurora, New York, postcard front

Roycrofters Tea House, and Reading Room, East Aurora, New York, postcard back

Morrisville, NY

General exterior view of the Summit Farm Tea Room, Morrisville, New York, postcard front. Thora Osland, a Swedish immigrant was the proprietor; her specialties were Swedish foods and the sale of rustic, hand-woven Swedish baskets to tourists.

Summit Farm Tea Room with Swedish baskets, Morrisville, New York, postcard front.

Summit Farm Tea Room with an array of Swedish baskets, quilts, and American primitive antiiques, Morrisville, New York, postcard front.

Summit Farm Tea Room, Morrisville, New York, the back used on both of the postcards featuring Swedish baskets.

New York City, NY

Colonia Tea Room, 379 5th Avenue, New York City, New York, postcard front.

Colonia Tea Room, 379 5th Avenue, New York City, New York, postcard back.

Garden Tea Room, ONeill's, New York City, New York, postcard front.

Garden Tea Room, ONeill's, New York City, New York, postcard back.

Gift Shop Tea Room, New York City, New York, interior, postcard front. This tea room was famed because every item in it was for sale.

Gift Shop Tea Room, New York City, New York, interior, postcard back.

Huyler's Candy store at 508 5th Avenue, New York City, New York, circa 1905; photo by Byron & Company. The signage reads "Huyler's" in each of the three second-story windows, then "Importers of Novelties", and in the front windows, "Genuine Old Fashioned Molasses Candy -- Huyler's" and "Fresh Every Hour -- Huyler's." Huyler's Candy Shop later became Huyler's Tea Shop and Candy Store and it is included here because under the entry for Massachusetts Menus you will find a 1927 menu for the Tremont Street, Boston, Huyler's Tea Room, along with a list of the 53 Tea Rooms then in the Huyler's chain -- a chain whose story began in New York City. Huyler's was founded by John S. Huyler (pronounced "Hyler"). He was born in New York City in 1846 to a father who owned a bakery and ice cream shop in Greenwich Village. Huyler grew up living above the store and began working there as a teenager. While still young he found an old recipe for soft molasses candy, which he began to make and sell at his father's shop. He then opened an independent shop on Broadway near 18th Street, where he sold ice cream and candy. To attract attention, he stationed one of his candy pullers in the front store window, so that people walking by could watch the candy being made on the hook. Soon he had several more stores in Manhattan, and the hard-working candy pullers in the windows drew a lot of buyers. In 1881 he formally incorporated his company as Huyler’s, Inc. He constructed a factory at 11th and Bleeker Streets to supply candy for his various shops, but it was quickly replaced by a larger six-story factory and office. Even though the candies were factory-made, they were produced in small batches. This added to production costs, but Huyler preferred to carefully monitor the quality of the products. Milton Hershey worked at Huyler's from 1883-1885 and received training in candy manufacturing and marketing before moving back home to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he founded Hershey’s Chocolate. As for John S. Huyler, he moved to Rye, New York, and became a philanthropist in later years, leaving his son to run the company. At the time of his death in 1910, he had 54 stores in his East Coast chain, each supplied by his 14 candy factories. The tea room and candy shop chain, along with the factories, was sold to the New Orleans banker Rudolph S. Hecht in 1926, and one year later, to the retail magnate David A. Schulte. This story continues in Boston, Massachusetts, where we pick it up with a Huyler's Tea Room menu from 1927.