2/8/22 | Week 2 | 5 Black Caterers Who Were Influential in the Catering and Events Industry

Thomas Downing
New York, NY

Oysters are often seen today as a luxury food. Throughout much of early American history they were so abundant that people from all classes regularly ate them. In coastal cities, you could have them on the street or in dingy bars for practically nothing. In late 1800s New York, a man named Thomas Downing built an empire out of an oyster bar.

The son of slaves from the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, he, a free man, moved to New York City and eventually opened up the Oyster House in what is now the financial district of New York. Its success came rapidly. He turned it into one of the fanciest meeting places in New York City. White men brought their clients there as well as many foreign dignitaries. It is said that many wives looked forward to be treated by their husbands at the Thomas Downing Oyster House.

He taught his children to be successful entrepreneurs and active in the fight for freedom of the Enslaved African.

His son George would later open a catering business in New York City, then he began to branch off into Rhode Island, establishing a catering business in Providence. In the fall of 1854, he opened the luxury Sea Girt Hotel in Newport, Rhode Island, the first and largest Black-owned hotel in the country. He was very active in the Underground Railroad, and even secretly used the hotel and restaurant as a rest station for runaway slaves on the move.
Downing lasting legacy may be that of an oyster seller. He is said to have made them respectable. He only served the best oysters from each day’s catch. His establishment became famous the world over.

Like all persons of African heritage, he was barred from citizenship until the Civil Rights Act of 1866 became law, the day before he died.

Rod Westmaas, CPCE Emeritus chose these 5 Black Caterers because he decided to look first at the influences of 18/19th century Black Caterers in segments. These 5 caterers are located on the east coast of the U.S. These were simply the five that stood out in his research that made a significant difference to there city/state within the fledging catering world. He is currently looking into other parts of the US also where Black caterers have also shone.