User:BadgerPriest/Reisenweber's Cafe



Reisenweber's Cafe, also known as Reisenweber's Restaurant, was a restaurant in Columbus Circle, Manhattan from 1856 to 1922.

History
Reisenweber's started as a tavern in 1856 but was substantially expanded in 1910 by John Reisenweber, the son of the founder, eventually becoming a seven-floor complex, with four stories used for dining and entertainment.

At its height, Reisenweber’s “housed a dozen dining rooms, employed more than 1,000 in help and seated 5,000 diners at one time".

Entertainment and jazz
In 1912, Reisenweber's became the first restaurant in New York City to provide its patrons with space to dance.

The next year, Reisenweber's manager Louis Fischer introduced the first modern cover charge, to cover the production costs of Ned Wayburn's revues held there.

At the start of 1917, the Original Dixieland Jass Band began an engagement playing for dancers at Reisenweber's Cafe, an engagement that helped introduce jazz to a wider audience. Upon arriving in New York City, the band recorded two sides for the Victor Talking Machine Company, "Livery Stable Blues" and "Dixieland Jass Band One-Step", on February 26, 1917 at Victor's New York studios. These titles were released as Victor 18255 in May 1917, the first issued jazz record.

Decline and closure
The passing of the Volstead Act and start of national prohibition had a significant effect on Reisenweber's business. In March of 1922, federal authorities sued to close Reisenweber's on the accusation that liquor was served on its premises in violation of the Volstead Act, marking the first time that the injunction clause of the Volstead Act had been invoked in the Southern District of New York.

On September 28, 1922, federal judge Martin T. Manton decreed the closing of Reisenweber's Cafe for a year, a decision that was upheld on appeal the following January. Reisenweber's never reopened.