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Description
Here's some history on the restaurant chain:
The Stouffer family business traces its roots to 1898 when James B. Stouffer and his son Abraham E. Stouffer started the Cottage Creamery Co. at the Sheriff Street Market in Cleveland. In 1901, James's son Abraham E. Stouffer, at the age of 26, became vice president of the company. In 1905, the Stouffer family established and incorporated the Medina County Creamery Company in Medina, Ohio, with $20,000 in capital stock. James B. Stouffer died on November 23, 1908 at age 62 in Orlando, Orange County, Florida, and Abraham took over the running of the company. On January 11, 1912, The Medina County Creamery Company filed a change of address to Cleveland. In 1914, the company had expanded and opened The Medina County Creamery Company Detroit, Michigan branch. By this period the creamery was the largest manufacturer and wholesaler of creamery products in the city of Cleveland with over 1,500 farmers supplying Stouffer's Medina County Creamery Co. In early 1920, Stouffer's lucrative creamery drew the attention of The Fairmont Creamery, now Fairmont Foods, the largest creamery company in the United States. In December 1920, Abraham Stouffer announced his company, The Medina County Creamery Co. of 2171 East 4th Street, Cleveland Ohio would merge with Fairmont Creamery Co. of Omaha, Nebraska through stock ownership. Abraham E. Stouffer would continue as part of the merger and oversee the Cleveland plant until 1922. In 1922, Abraham E Stouffer took over one of the milk stands owned by his dairy company. The milk, buttermilk and sandwich store was in the southwest of the Cleveland Arcade (lower level) and turned it into a restaurant with his wife Lena Mahala Bigelow. The Stouffer Lunch System was an idea Abraham had in the years prior to selling the Medina County Creamery Co. in 1920. The Stouffers converted the operation into a restaurant which served buttermilk, sandwiches, and Lena Stouffer's homemade dutch apple pie (credited by some as the reason for the almost instant success of the restaurant). They opened the first restaurant, called the Stouffer Lunch, in 1924. As time went on, the couple continued the program of expansion with the assistance of their sons Vernon, a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance, and Gordon, who together led the reorganization of the business, taking it public as the Stouffer Corporation in 1929 with Abraham as chairman of the board. The year 1929 also marked the beginning of the company's effort to establish locations outside of Ohio with the opening of a restaurant in Detroit, Michigan, and one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After Abraham's death in 1936 the company continued its program of expansion by opening its first restaurant in New York City and eventually began a program of diversification, entering the frozen food business in 1946. In 1960 the company, formally renamed Stouffer Foods Corporation in 1956, purchased its first hotel, the Anacapri Inn of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and, by the end of that year, the company was composed of three divisions: Stouffer Foods Corporation, Stouffer Hotels Corporation, and Stouffer Restaurants Corporation. In 1961, Stouffer's opened two short-lived automated vending restaurants. Stouffer's took over this complex of restaurants with the shared kitchen (Plaza Pavilion). In 1962 Stouffer's Disneyland hosted Plaza Pavilion, Tahitian Terrace, and French Market Restaurant. In 1967, Stouffer Corporation was purchased by Litton Industries for vertical integration purposes, when that company had a large share of the microwave oven market, but in 1973, Litton sold Stouffer to Nestlé. In 1993, Nestlé announced its intention to sell Stouffer Hotels to New World Development Co Ltd whom at that time owned Renaissance & Ramada Hotel brands (The Stouffer Hotel brand was retired at the end of 1996) as part of a refocusing of the company on food products. The transaction was complete by 1996. Some Stouffer's Restaurants are now Select Restaurants.
This is an ORIGINAL item, NOT A REPRODUCTION item! Postage information is listed at the bottom-$ 4.95 postage is required.
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We will try and combine shipping on multiple purchases wherever possible. Please e-mail us with auction item numbers before sending payment. However, if the items are heavy or require special packing / tracking, the postal rates might not be significantly reduced. We no longer ship overseas first class mail. We will only ship Internationally by Priority Mail, and that starts at $30.00. So please be aware that we NO LONGER SHIP FIRST CLASS MAIL INTERNATIONALLY unless seller agrees to ship by USPS Priority mail at an increased rate. Postage rates are non-negotiable and non-refundable. We pack every item professionally using new packing materials and appropriate mailing supplies. We send all items via US Postal Service.The U.S.Postal service rates change fairly regularly every year and we don't make money on postage like some other ebay sellers. I think you'll find that we're quite fair. Thank-you!
Terms of Sale
I try and place a penny in every photo to help judge the size of the item, obviously it is there for size comparison and is not included with the item. The standard sized Lincoln head penny in the photograph is there for size comparison ONLY and is not included in the package. We're just trying to help you figure out how big the item is. We try and always be as accurate as we can in the item description and will gladly answer any question about item size & description when needed. Please e-mail us with any questions BEFORE the end of sale and BEFORE placing a bid. Postage is determined by the U.S. Postal service and is never refundable. Many of the items are VINTAGE and although they are in very fine condition, they may not function as well as when they were made decades ago. So if you intend on using the old item, please be aware that we are selling it for collector value only. In other words, if you intend on using a 50+ year old letter opener and it breaks, don't get mad at us. It may be hard to believe, but we have received a couple negatives because people broke vintage items while trying to use them.
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Please e-mail us with any questions BEFORE the end of sale and BEFORE placing a bid. Postage is determined by the U.S. Postal service and is never refundable. Please be aware of the postage rates BEFORE you bid! We pack professionally and do not try and make money off of postage.
