This legendary steakhouse in NYC hosted a defiant luncheon in 1868 — and helped reshape public dining in the US.
Founded in 1837, Delmonico’s is a living piece of history in New York City. The establishment, which considers itself the country’s first fine-dining restaurant, is iconic not only for its famed Delmonico steak, but also as a trailblazer. It was the first restaurant to allow women to dine publicly without men in the United States.
On April 20, 1868, journalist and author Jane Cunningham Croly, who often wrote under the pseudonym Jennie June, hosted a ladies luncheon at Delmonico’s. It was a radical act of defiance to cultural and business norms.
A press dinner denial
According to Paul Freedman’s article “Women and Restaurants in the Nineteenth-Century United States,” a group of women that included Croly was denied tickets to a men’s-only press dinner held by the New York Press Club at Delmonico’s to honor Charles Dickens during his U.S. tour. This infuriated Croly, who was both a member of the New York Press Club and a reporter assigned to cover the event.
According to Catherine Gourley’s book, Society’s Sisters: Stories of Women Who Fought for Social Justice in America, the club eventually caved to Croly’s demand to attend three days before the event, but the invite came with an insulting stipulation: Any women who attended would be seated behind a curtain to remain hidden from the men…