Which Englishman opened the first simple restaurant in Kansas in 1876?

Fred Harvey

Fred Harvey, an immigrant from England, lived in New York, New Orleans, St. Louis and other places I had experience working in a restaurant and then came to Kansas. At that time, the United States was building the railway expansion in western Hunan. Local restaurants took a long time to cook and many workers had no time to eat, so Harvey had an idea.

In 1876, Harvey established the first restaurant called "Harvey House Restaurant" in Topeka, the capital of Kansas. The interior of his restaurant is clean, the food is delicious, and it is popular with customers. He then opened branches to many other cities in the southwestern United States and sold his food on trains, so that American train passengers at that time did not have to leave the train to buy food.

After the opening of Harvey's Restaurant, it provided a large number of job opportunities for the local area. At that time, the maids recruited at Harvey's Restaurant were women between the ages of 18 and 30. They signed a contract with the restaurant that stipulated that they could not get married before their contract with Harvey's Restaurant expired. They wore maid costumes and aprons when working, and they could receive a monthly salary of 17.5 US dollars (the average monthly income of Americans at that time was only more than ten US dollars), and they could also receive tips from customers. Harvey's Restaurant provides them with free meals and accommodation. In the United States, where women had not yet been fully liberated, being able to work at Harvey's Restaurant was one of the ideal jobs for women who did not have many job opportunities to choose from.

During Harvey's lifetime, he opened 47 Harvey's chain restaurants, 15 hotels and 30 train dining cars