Since Cleveland's earliest days, restaurants, taverns, and saloons have generally served as social centers for communities or neighborhoods. What has changed, however, is the frequency with which Clevelanders dine away from home. This change in dining habits and, indeed, the growth of a vibrant part of the local s service economy are charted by various statistics. As Cleveland grew, so did its restaurants: by , it had a population of 9,, 10 hotels, and 3 coffee houses.
By , the population was 10,, and there were 19 hotels. In Cleveland had 76 hotels, serving , townspeople. In July , Cleveland restaurants were feeding an average of , people daily. An estimated area population of 1,, in was served by hotels.
When Cleveland became a leading convention center in the s and s, it spurred restaurant growth that lasted into the s. By there were some 20, restaurants in the area. Fast-food chains, steak houses, and a wide variety of ethnic restaurants were patronized not only by travelers, but by a population with increased leisure time and money. In early 19th century America, the first restaurants developed along transportation routes, catering to travelers who had to dine away from home.
As the city grew, hotels became the sites of the community's most prominent restaurants and bars. During the s there was keen competition in the operation of hotel barrooms. These hotel taverns met with competition from popular neighborhood saloons such as Richards and McKean northwest side of the Square and the Oyster Ocean Bond St. It started as Mowrey's Tavern Phinney Mowrey purchased land situated on a much-used Indian footpath in and built a log-cabin hotel in By Mowrey's had changed hands several times and was known as the Cleveland House or Cleveland Hotel.
The Cleveland House became the social center for the city. In it was razed and replaced by a larger structure that was a popular place for meetings, balls, and public functions. James W. Cook, its proprietor in , joined the "drys" who banned the sale of liquor and renamed the hotel the Cleveland Temperance House. In the building was destroyed by fire and the land was purchased by David B.
