Clara Louise and Percival Browne opened the Clara Louise Tea Room at 219 East Front Street in 1927, in a wood frame building with a white picket fence. A 1935 Courier advertisement describes its “charm of antiquity” and notes that it is an “exceptionally fine eating place for a discriminating clientele.” Nestled in the heart of the central business district, it was a popular place for shoppers and business people, who especially enjoyed their candied sweet potatoes.
In 1949, three years after the death of Clara Louise Browne, the tea room moved to 64 Somerset Street in North Plainfield. There the flavor changed somewhat just as Plainfield changed in the post-war era. Rosenbaum’s Department Store bought up the property and continued the tea room. They opened a second floor social room where local groups such as the Chamber of Commerce could hold meetings. |
