Manufacturer: Wellsville China
User: Stockyard Cafe
Date of plate: 1954

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Notes: The Stockyard Café – located at 5001 E. Washington St., Phoenix, Arizona – came into being in 1947 (per the restaurant's website) when Edward A. Tovrea, a prominent cattleman in the state, opened the restaurant on the grounds of his Phoenix packing house. Tovrea originally opened the stockyards in the Phoenix area in 1919 and enjoyed great success with the operations. Tovrea's Phoenix operations were advertised as being the "World's Largest Feed Lots, Livestock Center of the Southwest."

The restaurant also advertised its specialties as prime ribs and steaks. The café was very unique because it was on the same grounds as the stockyard. As time went on, the cattle business at the stockyards dwindled, however the restaurant continued in popularity to where today (2026) it is still Phoenix's premier steakhouse.

The restaurant was destroyed by fire in 1953 but reopened in 1954, and this plate represents that new era for the Stockyard. It should also be noted that the restaurant is called Stockyards Restaurant, but because the china has Stockyard Cafe, that's the way we're listing it.

Contributor:
Theresa Tucker: backstamp photo