Lancaster Kitchen and Caterers Supply Company

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

This tour stop highlights the important contributions of African Americans to the economy of a community. As an established businessman with a reputation for hard work, William Payne contributed to the quality of life across the spectrum of society in Lancaster. William Payne's and Thaddeus Henry's successes were important indicators of the economic advances being made by African Americans in the region.

Images

Lancaster Kitchen Supply

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

William G. Payne was a well-known African-American restaurateur and caterer who was born a slave in Virginia and moved to Lancaster from Philadelphia. In Lancaster, William began a restaurant and catering business at 27 East Orange Street.

As his reputation spread, William was hired as Caterer and Steward for the Hamilton Club, a position he managed for about five years. During the year 1906, William leased the property at 135 East Grant Street and opened the Lancaster Kitchen & Caterers’ Supply Company, which he owned and operated from 1906 to about 1914 when he retired from the catering business.

The Lancaster Kitchen and Caterers’ Supply Co. was highlighted in the 1910 Pennsylvania Negro Business Directory where it is stated that William served many of the wealthy throughout the country. William also made an impact on the community when he helped found the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Sources

Pennsylvania Negro Business Directory, 1910 :Industrial and Material Growth of the Negroes of Pennsylvania., n.d. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/emu.010000158356.

“Church History.” http://ebclancaster.org/about-us/church-history/.

RD-PaynesLanc.Kitch-Context-Rev-5-29-19.Pdf.” https://www.lancasterhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/RD-PaynesLanc.Kitch-Context-Rev-5-29-19.pdf.