A bit of cultural ephemera today. . .
Prohibition was not repealed until December 1933, so mixed drinks could only be found in unadvertised speakeasies (and in the front parlor of many people’s homes including I’m sure, the patron saint of FizzyCocktail.com, my 2x Great Uncle John Caulkins).
But shortly after taking office in March of 1933, President Roosevelt got the repeal ball rolling by legalizing the sale of 3.2% beer (and famously quipping “I think this would be a good time for a beer” before the ink was dry on the legislation).
Entrepreneurial hotel and restaurant owners immediately hopped on the Hops bandwagon, so to speak, as evidenced by this great 1933 ad from Cleveland’s weekly Sport and Amusement Guide.
There is so much to love about this ad — not the least of which is the fact that the Fenway Hall Hotel has determined that a beer and sandwich shop is the perfect thematic fit to their “Streets of Paris” motif.
Sandwiches are — mostly — 15 cents; an important disclosure for potential customers who are earning, at best, around $20 a week. That is, if they can find work in the Depression.
The sandwich shop is open every day from noon until 2:00am (quite the night owls, those Clevelanders) and The Five Melodians provide entertainment for 8 of those hours! (presumably with breaks in there somewhere).
And no, my grandmother was not a member of the Melodians. She was still the vocalist for Merle Jacob’s Orchestra. They are mentioned in this edition of the Sport and Amusement Guide too, which is probably why it has existed long enough to come into my possession.