Description: Rare Mayer China Train Plate: Johnny Garneau's Golden Spike Restaurant, 1968. Who was Johnny Garneau? If you grew up in Western Pennsylvania from the 1950s to ’80s, Johnny Garneau’s Smorgasbords were the name in buffet restaurants. Garneau entered the restaurant business in 1949 with the tiny Beanery in Clarion, PA, 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. He launched his first smorgasbord there in 1952, when the idea from Scandinavia was still new to most Americans. Johnny was an ingenious inventor. One of his best-known inventions is his “Food Service Table” – now called a “sneeze guard” – a plexiglass cover meant to protect food on display from bacteria and other germs that may be spread by sneezing. He filed a patent for this invention on March 10, 1959. Today it’s required by law that all retail, self-service food bars have one of these. In 1965 Johnny dreamed up a railroad-themed steakhouse called the Golden Spike, its name a nod to the driving of the ceremonial golden spike that completed the transcontinental railroad in 1869. His first location was on Route 51 near the Pleasant Hills Cloverleaf. The building resembled an old train station and had staff dressed in period outfits, railroad memorabilia décor, sound effects, and a miniature train to deliver drinks and bar snacks. In 1968 he opened a lavish Golden Spike in downtown Pittsburgh on 6th Street, which was being touted as the city’s new entertainment district. Garneau’s cocktail lounge faced the Loew’s Penn Theater, then closed but set to reopen as Heinz Hall in 1971. Escalators led downstairs to the 170-seat rail-themed restaurant and the lavish new Fiesta Theater. By 1969, the centennial of the actual golden spike, Johnny Garneau’s restaurants were at their peak. He was inducted into Hospitality magazine’s Hall of Fame that year for outstanding achievements in the food service industry and his community affairs. He tried expanding nationally but by the late 1970s was onto yet another innovation: the “Pretz” pretzel-bagel bun, to be sold through a chain of Professor Pretz’s sandwich shops, including a storefront also on 6th Street in the Roosevelt Building a half-block from the Golden Spike. By the 1980s, Garneau had sold the smorgasbords and Golden Spikes, but he remained interested in food safety and continued to invent. Garneau passed away in 2013. Reference: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/blog/western-pennsylvania-history-johnny-garneau-smorgasbords-and-sneeze-guards/ Mayer China made in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. MANUFACTURERS OF VITRIFIED HOTEL CHINA. Date code: 268 = April – June 1968 No chips, cracks, crazing, or other damage noted. Please carefully inspect all photos as they are part of this description. Please note that this is a vintage item and, as such, some minor imperfections may be present. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see more photos prior to purchasing. Items stored in a clean, dry, smoke-free environment. Ships 1-2 Business Days. Will be carefully packed for protection during shipping. Will combine shipping for multiple purchases. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
Price: 378 USD
Location: New Castle, Pennsylvania
End Time: 2024-10-14T23:17:46.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
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