Manufacturer: Scammell China
Distributor: Albert Pick-Barth Co.
User: Vivian Johnson Tea Room, Monmouth Beach, New Jersey
Date of example: 1929 -1935
Notes: Vivian Johnson was born in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey, in March 1901. Johnson opened a small tea room on River Avenue in 1923.
Her tea room and grill on Ocean Avenue in Monmouth Beach opened in June 1927. It was a large, white, gabled building with green shutters and window boxes filled with geraniums and ivy. The porch, which overlooked the ocean, had orange awnings. The dining room color scheme was orange, black, and green, with bright chintz shades and drapery.
Johnson specialized in shore dinners, bridge luncheons and tea parties. By July 1927, several social affairs had taken place, and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson stopped for lunch on July 13.
Prior to closing for the winter in 1927, the main dining room was enlarged, and a large card room had been added. A 10-room bungalow was built to house the tea room employees. Vivian's father, A. O. Johnson, former mayor of Monmouth Beach, financed the restaurant which Vivian operated.
Johnson was a writer and actress in local productions, as well as the tea room operator.
The tea room, only open during the summer season, was redecorated prior to opening for the 1929 season. It was one of the most exclusive places on the New Jersey shore, where social events were given by local and nearby community residents.
During the winter of 1929, a large addition was built that increased the restaurant capacity to more than 700. The main dining and dancing room, on the north end, was then able to hold 500. Smaller dining rooms could accommodate up to 50 guests.
The main dining room had a dance floor, surrounded by four massive columns that supported the square dome ceiling. It was illuminated by indirect lighting augmented by modernistic chandeliers that were designed by Johnson's father. The color scheme was switched to grey and black, with black and grey squares in the carpet. The tables were covered to correspond with the color scheme, with glassware to match. Special designs were included in the china and other table accessories. An orchestra stand was included in this room.
In 1931, A. O. Johnson opened a Johnson's Tea Room in East Orange, N.J.
The 1934 season opened with a new "Marine Room" that featured a "Yacht Bar," complete with lifeboats and a foghorn.
Miss Johnson became Mrs. Jonasson when she married Robert Jonasson on Nov. 3, 1930.
On Sept. 19, 1935, a fire that began in the ballroom destroyed the entire 250-foot-long structure.
By October 1935, plans were under way to rebuild the restaurant and have it ready to open for the 1936 season. What really happened, however, was that Vivian Johnson Jonasson leased the former Club Addison and operated it as her restaurant. This new location, on Ocean and Avery avenues, opened in May 1936 and had a sign on the exterior that said "Vivian Johnson's," but no "Tea Room."
The Art Deco-style china that Scammell produced on Ivory Lamberton ware is crested with a vertical black rectangle containing dropout white "VJ." The border is a series of black triangles, part solid, part lines. The transfer border has a black rim line added. This pattern was supplied by the New York Barth division of Albert Pick-Barth Co. It was produced as part of the 1929 redecorating of the Tea Room. Unless some of the china was salvaged after the 1935 fire, it was probably not used when the restaurant reopened in 1936.
Sources:
MonmouthBeachLife.com, May 1, 2026, Greg Kelly, history and photos
Daily Record, June 14, 1927 – opened
Daily Record, July 14, 1927 – Mrs. Wilson
Daily Record, Nov. 18, 1927 – additions and bungalow
Daily Record, May 29, 1929 – redecorating and exterior painting
Daily Record, May 31, 1929 – season opening
Daily Record, May 31, 1930 – china to match color scheme
Daily Record, Nov. 5, 1920 – wedding
Daily Standard, Dec. 11, 1931 – East Orange Johnson's Tea Room
Daily Standard, Sept. 19, 1935 – fire
Daily Standard, Oct. 31, 1935 – rebuilding started
Daily Record, March 30, 1936 – club leased
KeyPort Enterprise, April 2, 1936 – Club Addison leased
Contributors:
Larry Paul, author
Stephanie Carr, bowl photographs