The Colonial Dining Room, 625 Owen -A Limited Engagement

“Meals That Are Different in An Atmosphere of Contentment”   

-The Saginaw News, December 6, 1941. 

One of the great pleasures of exploring a city - and a city’s history – is the discovery of the unexpected. Tucked into an apartment building at 625 Owen, the Colonial Dining Room -- sometimes the title includes “Hostess Room”-- is one of those little discoveries.  

The Colonial Dining Room was located in an apartment building at 625 Owen, a few blocks from the edge of the eastside business district. It was in the heart of a densely constructed residential neighborhood. Although there were nearby institutional neighbors – Saint Mary’s Hospital, the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption and schools, they were worked into a dense, highly walkable neighborhood – a neighborhood that included large scale apartment buildings such as the Amadore that abutted 625 Owen. (If you are familiar with the location, try to imagine what it looked like in 1941 by replacing all of the parking lots with homes.) 

The apartment building housing the Colonial Dining Room was completed in the fall of 1941. Although billed as a new building, evidence suggests that the builder may have incorporated portions of an earlier structure. Although the early history may be murky, on October 11, 1941, an advertisement appeared in the Saginaw News:  

“Model Apartment, Building just being completed at 625 Owen St. Available one unfurnished apartment in a very desirable location.” 

The following month, on November 15, 1941, Harold August Jaehn filed field business papers for “The Colonial Dining Room and Hostess Room.”  The eatery opened less than two weeks later on Wednesday, November 26, 1941, and was soon promoting: “Meals That are different in An Atmosphere of Contentment.”   While advertising promoted what was being served --“famous home-made bread and rolls”--few ads failed to mention the convenience of the location: “Just Around the Corner From Hoyt and Jefferson” and “Avoid Gas Ration Worries, The COLONIAL Dining Room is Easy Walking Distance.”  

October 11, 1941.

Directories and newspaper articles indicate that Harold A. Jaehn was joined in the operation by his wife, Clara Schulz Jaehn. Although we know the building seated 150 and the décor is hinted at by the name, we do not have any photographs or plans of the interior.   

It is hard to judge the success of the establishment. Advertising and articles in the society column, suggest the Colonial Dining Room thrived as a hostess room. In late 1942, advertising promoted no reservations were required, yet by the spring of 1943 , the Colonial Dining Room advertised, “On Reservation Only.”  One of the last mentions of the Colonial Dining Room was an article describing a wedding shower: 

“Bride-Elect Partied: Complimenting Miss Maxine White, bride-elect, Mrs. Arthur Lee entertained at a bathroom shower last Sunday at the Colonial Dining Room. Wash clothes marked places . . .” (The Saginaw News, July 4, 1943.) 

Although the building that once housed  “Saginaw’s Newest and Finest Eating Place of Distinction” survives, the Colonial Dining Room hasn’t served a complete week-day dinner for 65 cents since 1942.  

A Recipe in Honor of the Colonial Dining Room – Chicken Salad  

We confess, we do not have an actual recipe from the Colonial Dining Room. Advertising documents a variety of substantial dinner selections; however, we decided to focus on something that might have been served at a luncheon or wedding shower – Chicken Salad. We chose a period recipe from The Saginaw News. 

“Leftover Chicken Salad: One and one-fourth diced, cooked chicken*, ¾ cup salad dressing, 1 ¼ cups  diced celery, 2 shelled hard-cooked eggs, chopped, ¾ teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup diced pared cucumbers, ¼ cup French dressing**, lettuce. 

Combine the chicken with all remaining ingredients except the lettuce. Allow ¼ \ ½  cup per serving arranging the salad mixture on individual beds of lettuce. Serves 4 -5.” (The Saginaw News, December 25, 1943.) 

CTK Interpretation: 

1 ¼ leftover baked or boiled chickens. Remove skin and bones, and dice. 

1 ¼ cups diced celery  

2 hardboiled eggs, peeled and chopped 

¾ cups cucumber, peeled and chopped 

1 cup dressing – make by whisking together ¾ cup commercial mayonnaise and ¼ cup vinaigrette. See link below for vinaigrette recipe 

Retain celery leaf and slice cucumber for garnish  

Leaf lettuce  

Procedure: Combine chicken, celery, eggs and cumber and fold in dressing. If serving later, add egg and cucumber shortly before serving.  

Before serving – place lettuce leaf on plate and then add serving of chicken salad. We slightly overdressed our salad and were able to mold it in a measuring cup. Dust with paprika and garnish with celery leaves and a cucumber slice. 

---

*We interpreted this as 1 ¼ cooked chickens – a most interesting unit of measure 

** Before you rush to the store to purchase a bottle of commercial French dressing, read this post: https://www.castlemuseum.org/post/mrs-e-a-patterson-s-french-dressing  Almost certainly what is specified in this 1943 recipe, is a vinaigrette.