The Washington herald., 1920-10-26
TEA ROOMS CUT
H0TELPROFITS
New York Teeming With
New Idea in Eating
Places.
ny o. o. MCINTYRE.

Hsrsld0
New York, Oct, 25.-The growth
Of the tea room is cutting into the
profits of the big cafes and hotels.
Every vacant basement place has
been seized, decorated with a little
chintz and a few dull lights ana in
no time a path is beaten to the door.
The tea room Is the old table d'hote
in new dress sans red wine and the
French madam at the cashiers
cage.
Ths tea rooms seem to be con-
Quoted by improvident widows who
hustle about greeting patrons. They
let it be known that they have seen
better days by a reference to their
country place and automobiles.
They specialize in home cooked
dinners" The home cooking plea
seems to be an unfailins lure, al
though I believe home cooking, like
bread pudding. has always been
over-rated.
The overwhelming motif Of the
tea room Is coziness. Notices on
the wall tell OF the joys Of friend
ship, the appeal of good fellowship,
etc, etc. Each tea room has its
comedian who fashions puns SO all
may hear between courses. He al.
ways inspires someone to say be-
tween giggles, "Ain't he just aw-
ful?" And he certainly is.
In the darkened corners sit young
| lovers holding hands above the ia.
| BILE. One table is invariably de-
voted to female intellectuals. You
can toll them by their horn trimmed
/ glasses and their positive state
| nents that civilization is predomi'
naptly Aryan.
Another lure OF the tea room is
| that women may come unescortec
and smoke--a privilege that wa:
denied in the table d'hote days
There is an easy atmospt ere OF IA
| mjliarity. One may go over ant
talk to ones neighbor without be.
| ing frowned upon by the head
| waiter.
The average tea room dinner IL
sl.25--hot wales soc extra. Hat
and wraps are left at the entrsnc,
unchecked and there is no hat tip
| ping, an admirable virtue indeed
Tho diner Is not supposed to leav,
after the meal is finished. He MAJ
| stay and select a magazine from
the reading table. play solitaire o.
enter into some discussion with hi
neighbor.
"a Dit Grotto."
1t might be supposed that will
the dawning of prohibition sucl
words as soused, spiffiicated. stew
ed. corned. and picked would be
come obsolete. But II is not Sc
New words are even being coined
was in a hotel lobby when ;
pleasant faced fellow came in witt
a suspicious roll to his walk. A
he passed two mon in lounRini
chairs one turned to the other an
remarked: "A bit grottow And tn
other nodded understandingly.
Where. Is Dickens.
Maximilisn Foster, the writer
suggested to a moving picture pro
ducer recently that the time ha
come for the production Of the elias
sizes. why don't you produc
Charles Dickens Tale Of Two Cit
ies?" he asked. "or II that ha
been produced, Nicholas Nickel
oy?'"
where can you get hold Of thi
Charles Dickens" the producer in
quired.
Supposing. of course, that h
was Joking, Foster replied, Poet
Corner, Westminster Abbey. Ems
land" Several days later Fostt
received a phone message from tn
producer: Say you gave me til
wrong address," he said. 1--WE ca
bled that fellow Dickens thre
times and amt got an answer"
what's in q Name.
A farce comedy recently opene
in New York with the title, "Tt
Merchant of Venus The critic
praised it and II was apparent
, destined for a long run but despit
the fact it was in the smallest tn,
ater in town very small audience
came. The manager discovered tht
people thought 1t was a burlesqu
of Shakespearian play 1
| | changed the name to Because
! Helenw and the theater was file
every night thereafter.
|