Manufacturer: Maddock Pottery
Name of user:  Koerner's Restaurant, St. Louis, Missouri
Distributor: St. Louis Glass & Queensware Co.
Date of examples: Circa 1900-1913

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Notes:  In 1875, Ernst Albert Koerner arrived in the United States from his native Germany as a young man who had already served his apprenticeship in the restaurant business. In 1880, Ernst and his brother, Charles, opened Koerner's Garden, a restaurant and saloon in St. Louis.

In 1885, Ernst Albert turned that operation over to Charles and opened a new restaurant and saloon at 415 Washington Ave., with his older brother, (also named Ernst). The dining hall was 150-feet long and 30-feet wide. A fire in October 1887 destroyed the building where their restaurant occupied the first floor.

In 1888, E. A. (Ernst Albert) Koerner took over operation of the Merchant's Restaurant at 616 Washington Ave. He renamed it The Merchant's Restaurant and Oyster House. Another brother, Otto Frederick, immigrated in 1890 and became manager of Merchant's Restaurant in 1897. In August 1899, The Merchant's Catering Co. was formed with E. A. as president and Otto as vice president.

They closed the 616 Washington location and opened a new restaurant at 408 Washington. It was officially called The Merchant's Catering Company Restaurant and Oyster House but came to be known as simply Koerner's. A sign over the entrance read "Your Father Used to Eat Here," which was a bit hard to believe for a newly opened restaurant, but it brought the customers in. A 1900 ad in The Jewish Voice indicates there was a Ladies Restaurant upstairs.

E. A., known to regular patrons as Papa, presided over the dining room, which had his portrait on the rear wall. He loved good food, and his 350-pound weight confirmed that. His businessmen customers ate long and leisurely meals. Koerner's served quality German fare that included wiener schnitzel, potato pancakes, and Kartoffel (potato) salad. Imported Rhine wine, German beer, and cheese were on the menu.

Prohibition was the downfall for Koerner's. Business dropped off more than 50 percent with the advent of the Volstead Act. E. A. retired in 1923 after a couple of arrests for violating this law. He died October 15, 1926.

When he retired, E.A.'s three sons took over the business, and they were repeatedly fined for violating the prohibition law as well.

Koerner's closed on June 26, 1924, and the "Your Father Used to Eat Here" sign came down. Shortly after that the building was razed.

Maddock Pottery produced American body china that is transfer crested "Koerner's St. Louis." A double scroll with pointed end transfer border flanks the crest. An impressed "Maddock's American China" backstamp was used along with a transfer "St. Louis Glass & Queensware" mark. The only known examples of this china are rectangular entree dishes, a large one, and a smaller 8 /18" x 5 7/8" size.

Sources:
Lost Tables – History of Koerner's and E. A. Koerner's photograph, copyrighted 2023
The Jewish Voice – Jan. 5, 1900, ad
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct 16, 1926 – E. A. Koerner obit

Contributor:
Larry Paul: author