The full-service restaurant and dining out for pleasure is a 19th century invention, born of the pre-Civil War urban experience and the rise of cities. It didn\u2019t take long for this kind of experience to be replicated not only in places like Gage & Tollner and Peter Luger in Brooklyn but in cities and resorts across the country. <\/p>\n
Into our story comes Hiram S. Thomas. Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada, was still called Drummondville when he was born there in 1837. His family\u2019s history in the area is unknown. Thomas was college educated, but opportunities for Black men with a college education were few in mid-19th century North America. He spent his early working years as a waiter and steward on passenger boats plying the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. <\/p>\n
By the 1870s, during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas held the position of steward at the prestigious Capitol Club, in Washington, D.C. Many fine dining establishments of the day were staffed exclusively by Black waiters, a trend that continued into the 20th century in some places, including at Gage & Tollner. Thomas was described as tall, elegant and refined, and his job as steward allowed him to interact with presidents and kings. <\/p>\n %<\/span><\/span> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> | %<\/span><\/a> Single Page<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" College educated and from Canada, Black hotelier Hiram S. Thomas was a self-made success and master of the art of fine and gracious dining in 19th century America.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11099,"featured_media":451891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"schneps_byline":"","schneps_post_style":"","schneps_post_source":"","schneps_syndicated_read_more":"","schneps_post_source_sitename":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_html":"","schneps_syndicated_thumb_src":"","schneps_post_source_shortname":"","schneps_post_source_url":"","schneps_post_source_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7646,7683],"tags":[27859,23443,34092,8340,21673,2597,27891,4631],"districts":[],"class_list":["post-451882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-fort-greene","tag-131-fort-greene-place","tag-african-american-history","tag-best-of-brownstoner","tag-black-history","tag-brownstoner-magazine","tag-featured","tag-hiram-s-thomas","tag-suzanne-spellen"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"The Hiram S. Thomas Story: Brownstones, Potato Chips, Black Excellence in 19th Century Brooklyn","url":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/hiram-s-thomas-black-history-19th-century-hotelier-potato-chip-131-fort-greene-place-brooklyn\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/history\/hiram-s-thomas-black-history-19th-century-hotelier-potato-chip-131-fort-greene-place-brooklyn\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/hiram-s-thomas-fort-greene-brooklyn-black-history-collage-2.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.brownstoner.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/hiram-s-thomas-fort-greene-brooklyn-black-history-collage-2.jpg"},"articleSection":"History","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Suzanne Spellen"}],"creator":["Suzanne Spellen"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Brownstoner","logo":""},"keywords":["131 fort greene place","african american history","best of brownstoner","black history","brownstoner magazine","featured","hiram s thomas","suzanne spellen"],"dateCreated":"2022-02-07T17:45:01Z","datePublished":"2022-02-07T17:45:01Z","dateModified":"2024-03-23T14:43:13Z"},"rendered":"