Eden Valley Enterprises -- Lost Restaurants

When Oris Paxton and Mantis James Van Sweringen opened the Terminal Tower on June 28, 1930 they gave a luncheon for 2,500 guests. That was just the beginning of a tradition of eating at the Tower.

At its opening The Harvey company was responsible for all 175,000 feet of retail space in the Terminal along with all the restaurants including The English Oak room, a tea room and a soda fountain. Fred Harvey (of the famous "Harvey Girls" fame) was the leader of the Harvey Hotel system that was in use in most of the railroads providing passenger service in the US. His move into the Cleveland market was considered his boldest move to date - it was his first major location east of Chicago and the first with no ties to the Santa Fe railroad system where he made his reputation.

Memories:

Marlene Spanner Goodman was one of the Harvey Girls at the Terminal Tower and only one of two Jewish employees of a team of 350 who workers. She got the job through the Jewish Vocational Center and she loved working for the personnel manager. She remembers that the General Manager's wife would take her home for lunch which was made by their personal cook -- something that impressed Marlene immensely. In her day, pregnant women were not allowed to work. When she told her boss that she was pregnant he asked her to stay until she was "showing" so she was able to collect her paycheck a little longer. (from an interview on March 21, 2019)

Marty Perry wrote: "My husband and I enjoyed going to Cleveland for dinner and had been to a number of the restaurants. Although we had been to the English Oak Room only a few times, we remembered it as being a lovely and elegant place to dine. As the Christmas holidays approached in 1970, we decided to take our daughters who were then 9 and 12 to have dinner at the English Oak Room. We thought it would be fun for them to experience fine dining in a formal and "old world" atmosphere.
"Dressed in our best, we arrived at the restaurant. Interestingly, we had the same waitress who had waited on my husband and me once before. She had probably been there forever. The girls were impressed with the dark wood paneling and the formality of the surrounding decor. In talking with my girls recently, they could not remember what they had ordered for dinner, but they did remember dessert. They had ordered a Baked Alaska. They knew it was a very fancy and special dessert, and they had never had it. Well, it came. Their first bites were a big disappointment. They did not like the brandy taste from the flaming at all. My older daughter commented that it was just cake and ice cream with meringue on top. Big deal!
"All in all, the dinner was a success, and it was a delightful evening. The girls loved going to a beautiful and elegant restaurant, and even after 50 years they still remembered the occasion." (e-mail, May 1, 2020)

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