All the discussion about guns in public places these days has me thinking about restaurant security, a subject that, as a patron, I never actually consider. Specifically, I began to wonder for the first time whether ordinary eating places all the way up to elite restaurants have armed employees or a gun stashed away somewhere. Or, might patrons be armed? [shown above is a 1946 Jiggs comic strip scene]
Given that the answer has been “yes” back into the 19th century, and that more Americans are armed now, it’s likely to still be true.
But a more common type of violent incident that occurs in restaurants is a brawl which, thankfully, hasn’t usually involved guns.
Of course restaurants have always had a certain number of problem patrons to deal with. According to one 19th-century account, even Delmonico’s had a man employed to handle difficult guests, such as those who arrived inebriated. He headed off trouble by not admitting them or by whispering a “word of advice” to patrons who drank too much while in the restaurant. Mainly, he said, his job was to recognize by sight the city’s “bunko steerers and confidence men”: “I just meet them at the door and tell them it won’t do, and they know it won’t, so they go away quietly. There is no bouncing or knocking out required.”
His genteel method was similar in tone to that of “The Foreigner’s Club” of Sorrento, Italy, where this card was used.
Alas, such methods were only available in certain restaurants. At others, there were no door keepers, subtle ushers, or “convertible waiter bouncers.” It seemed from time to time that nothing could stop patrons from fighting other patrons or a server or even instigating a mass brawl.
I started thinking about restaurant brawls when I read a story in this year’s January 29 issue of the NYTimes Magazine. It described the scene of a Waffle House in Texas where a melee erupted and was captured on video. It involved patrons standing on the counter, throwing dishes and chairs, and attacking workers who fought back in like manner. Other popular videos show similar scenes in Popeyes and sub shops.
The author, Niela Orr, expressed a degree of longing for the days of Edward Hopper’s famous 1942 painting Nighthawks, where patrons sit glumly in isolation from other sad sacks at the counter. Like the Waffle House patrons, they are alienated but unlike them they aren’t throwing crockery.
They could have been though. Restaurant customers were documented hurling dishes as early as the 1860s.
In 1920 movie patrons laughed at the subject of riots in restaurants.
Restaurant brawls are diverse. Undoubtedly many of the sites where they occurred were lowly eateries but others were mainstream chains, such as the International House of Pancakes, Child’s, and White Castle. And Googie’s – where comedian Lenny Bruce went through a plate glass window. [1957 photo]
Not even Grandma’s Family Restaurant and Pancake House in Rockford IL was safe from disruption. In a 1992 melee there, an estimated 30 patrons “went wild,” breaking out four plate glass windows, jumping over booths, and throwing whatever they could get their hands on.
Incidents sometimes involved brawlers you might not expect, such as students at elite colleges (Harvard vs. Dartmouth in one case), or men in tuxedos upset that a server refused to give them more sugar during WWII rationing. Generally participants have tended to be young, white, male, and intoxicated.
Few incidents could outdo the brawl in New York City’s Bryant Park Grill said to be a repeat of a similar event in DC three years earlier. To quote a 1998 story in the Jersey (City) Journal, 40 of NYC’s firemen celebrating Medal Day in their finest uniforms “annoyed patrons, exposed themselves, urinated in public and invaded a women’s restroom.” They also threw a policeman over a row of planters when he tried to break them up. And, as so often happens, no one was arrested.
Personally, I will try to push all this to the back of my mind when I’m visiting restaurants.
© Jan Whitaker, 2023
It's great to hear from readers and I take time to answer queries. I can't always find what you are looking for, but I do appreciate getting thank yous no matter what the outcome.
Restaurant-ing through history 
Something to be said for the drive-thru, road rage aside of course. The public arena can be a scary place.
Hi Jan — I look so very forward to your postings. This one is definitely different. You are absolutely correct about the brawlers. I have never been in a brawl but I have been in two separate incidents that were escalating to brawl level. In both incidents, the aggressors were young white males. Thank God in both situations nothing happened (the first, the bully’s friends got him under control, and the second, we made a hasty exit from the restaurant!) I guess I never learned my lesson. Some years ago my late husband and I were having a late night dinner at an upscale and expensive steakhouse and our pleasant night out was being spoiled by a table of young white bros who had obviously finished their meal a while ago but were continuing to drink and make a lot of noise with profanity, inappropriate statements, etc. I turned around and politely but firmly told them my husband and I were trying to enjoy a nice dinner and their noise and profanity were spoiling our evening; could they please dial it down? I took a deep breath and expected my third near-brawl to materialize but instead one bro apologized and they quietly and sheepishly paid their bill and left. Go figure. I lay some blame on the management who continue to serve alcohol to patrons who are obviously over served because it is ratcheting up the bill. Please keep up your wonderful postings. I get such great enjoyment from reading them and am always impressed by the obvious amount of research you put into them. All best regards — and happy dining. Bob Merliss
Thanks for sharing, Bob.
A bizarre brawl story I found recently involved the White Kitchen Grill in Pittsburgh, just before Christmas in 1939. An off-duty cop started picking on a waitress, and a patron jumped in to defend her. Before you knew it, some twenty people were involved in the subsequent brawl and eventually thrown in the slammer for the night. The most peculiar part involved Tommy the Duck, a real life duck who apparently like to booze it up at the bar, along with his human drinking buddy. Tommy was also jailed and apppeared before the magistrate the next morning. The incident inspired one of the greatest headlines ever: “Whisky-sipping duck in court.”
Funny, and truly weird!
Crazy people. Remember how Uncle Mac predictably made a scene in restaurants? Mother wouldn’t go out to eat with them. ________________________________
I forgot that, but I believe it!
Wow! Yep white males too full of toxic testosterone and privilege.
Thanks for the article and thoughts!
Unfortunately for your argument, most restaurant brawls aren’t caused by white males “full of testosterone and privilege “. The evidence doesn’t support this. Nice try, though.
I’d love to know your sources.
Also, I expect things could have changed a bit in the 2000s. I generally focus on older times in history.
That is correct, most brawls in dining establishments – from fast food joints to upscale restaurants – are not the result of white males. All too often the culprits are blacks. This is a well established through news accounts, videos posted on social media, police reports and police statistics. Even a casual observer of society can tell you that.
I would be very skeptical about some of those sources you cite. But, more pertinent to my blog (which is about the HISTORY of restaurants rather than the present), you can be assured that white men and boys established the tradition!