History Happenings: Garnet’s Sandwich Shop

Our research for this column often involves following a storyline through the archives of The Gazette and other area newspapers. These resources are available for anyone in the community to use via the community archive found at cedarrapids.advantage-preservation.com. The archive project is a partnership of the Cedar Rapids Public Library, the Cedar Rapids Public Library Foundation, The Gazette, and Advantage Archives, and is a wonderful digital resource. (We would be remiss, however, if we didn’t mention The History Center’s wealth of physical materials available to those interested in researching Linn County’s past. You can learn more at historycenter.org/library.)

Generally speaking, we use the digital archives to read articles reporting local, statewide, national and international news, opinion pieces about the issues of the day, human interest stories, and more. But sometimes, we discover something we want to know more about in the ads that ran in the papers we’re perusing.

Take, for example, page 17 of the Friday, Aug. 18, 1939 edition of The Cedar Rapids Gazette. The main story on the page bore the headline, “Nazi Officers Dispute On Issue Of Hitler Actively Commanding Army In War.” It’s an interesting article, especially in light of the fact that Nazi Germany will invade Poland exactly two weeks later on Sept. 1, igniting World War II.

Intimations of grave world events notwithstanding, it was the primary ad on the page that really captured our attention, just as it was surely intended to do.

A comfortable place to grab a bite

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The ad dominates the page and trumpets the 10th anniversary of Garnet’s Sandwich Shop, which was located at 715 Second Ave. SE, in what is now Midtown Station. The shop, which the ad reveals has been completely rebuilt and is newly air conditioned, was set to reopen at 6:30 a.m. on the following day, Aug. 19, 1939. In the 1930s, it was not uncommon for a restaurant to advertise itself as the “only” air-conditioned eatery in its town. The Garnet’s Sandwich Shop ad doesn’t make that particular claim, but it is clear that the air conditioning is a big deal.

“Delicious Foods For Particular People Served In Air-Conditioned Comfort” reads a prominent line in the ad. We take “Particular People” as an effort to signal that Garnet’s is a cut above its competition. But it can’t be mistaken for an upscale restaurant. After all, the ad describes the shop’s skinless hot dogs at some length in the vernacular:

“We take one of those big, tender tasty fellows, put it in a really fresh bun and apply the chile, onions and the rest of the makin’s with a lavish hand. Good eats? You bet! We’re famous for ‘em.”

A glimpse of the wider business community

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The lower half of the ad is made up of 14 smaller ads in which various community businesses congratulate Garnet’s Sandwich Shop on its milestone anniversary while also, of course, saying a bit about themselves.

For example, one of the ads announces that the shop “will serve Hutchinson’s Ice Cream Exclusively.” Hutchinson’s Ice Cream — founded in Sioux City in 1890 — had arrived in Cedar Rapids by 1905. In 1930, the company was a division of Borden but still operated under its original name. Garnet’s would also exclusively serve tea from Benner Tea Company, which was located in the 200 block of Third Avenue SW at the time.

A smaller ad notes that Acme Chocolates, which were presumably available at Garnet’s, were manufactured by Linn Candies. That business was located at 301 F Avenue NW in the building that until recently housed Cedar River Landing and will soon be the home of CR Midnight Smoker BBQ.

Those congratulatory ads also note that the air conditioning was installed by the Amana Society, all the plumbing was installed by F. Kubias Company on Second Avenue SE (not in the Kubias Building currently found in the 300 block of Third Avenue SE), and the Paulson Electrical Company, located in the Dows Building on Second Street SE, handled all of the electrical work.

All of that to say that the reopening of Garnet’s Sandwich Shop was truly a community affair. A global conflagration was in the offing, but in mid-August of 1939, diners in Linn County had something to celebrate. It is a fascinating glimpse of the juxtaposition of everyday life in Linn County and world events.

Jessica Cline is a Leadership & Character Scholar at Wake Forest University. Her dad, Rob Cline, is not a scholar of any kind. They write this monthly column for The History Center. Comments: HistoricalClines@gmail.com