Manufacturers: Scammell China and Sterling China
User: Brookside Inn, Hopewell, N.J.
Date of examples: Circa 1930s to 1970s
Notes: In 1928, farmer Harry A. Titus of Woodville, N.J., opened a fruit and grocery stand with just two employees on his land on Route 30 in Hopewell, N.J. By August 1935, the produce stand had become a restaurant with the addition that year of a new ladies dining room and remodeling of the kitchen.
As of March 1938, an ad announced the completion of a complete remodeling and redecoration of Brookside Inn, along with the addition of a private dining room for banquets and parties. A 1940 article stated that 200 guests attended a banquet there.
The Inn continued to expand, with the addition in January 1942 of a 90-foot circular bar in the new 35-foot by 56-foot Grill Room that was decorated in red and rose tan and seated 140.
By its 20th anniversary in 1948, the Brookside Inn had grown to become a well-equipped, ultra-modern tavern with a staff of 32.
In June 1952, Titus died, and before its closure – possibly in that August – Dr. Earl E. Kailey, a Trenton chiropractor, purchased the Brookside Inn from the Titus estate. At that time the restaurant building was 150 by 75 feet. It changed hands at least a few times in the following two decades, with one sale to a Charles De Fillippis, and by the late 1960s it was owned by James J. Crovetto. And at one time, according to his 2016 obituary, it had been owned by a Pasquale "Pat" Orlando as well. The last mention of the Brookside Inn found was in 1978, and that was by way of giving directions to another venue, i.e. turn right at Brookside Inn.
According to a 2016 album compiled for the Hopewell Valley Central High School graduating class, the "Northfield Bank now sits on the site of the former Brookside Inn. The Brookside was torn down and a Wawa built in its place. … The site became the location of a branch of the Hopewell Valley Community Bank which recently was purchased by Northfield Bank."
For a restaurant that was very popular and operated about 50 years, it is remarkable that only one image could be found: a matchbook (see above) with a view of the bar. What was advertised as a circular bar turns out to have been a large rectangle with diagonal corners.
The china is Scammell's Lenape (tan) base Trenton China. The crest is a script "Brookside" with return swash containing "INN," all in red. There is a red line above a pin line at the rim. Sterling used this crest as well, flanked by a laurel wreath border, on china that was probably made after they purchased Scammell China in 1954.
Sources:
Hopewell Herald, Hopewell, NJ – Articles and advertisements
Hopewell Valley History Project – Hopewell in photos for 2016 high school graduates
Contributor:
Larry Paul: author