Jim Churchill
Encyclopedia
Captain Jim Churchill was an American businessman, restaurateur and NYPD police captain
. He was the founder of the Broadway
restaurant
-cabaret club
"Churchill's", located on Forty-Ninth Street, which became one of the most popular establishments in New York City
for over a decade prior to Prohibition
.
and was assigned to Chinatown
where he remained for the next 20 years. Many of his most memorable stories came from his adventures he had as a patrolman. He retired at the rank of police captain
around 1904 and, at the suggestion of friends, eventually entered the restaurant business.
He opened his first restaurant on Broadway which became an immediate success. His menu of chops
, potatoes and ice cold beer
attracted very large crowds and soon found his establishment to small to accommodate his customers. He sold his shop and bought a bigger place of Forty-Sixth Street, which seated 350 people, but this too proved too small and he eventually opened "Churchill's" in 1909. His establishment, built near his childhood home on Forty-Ninth Street, was built to seat 1,200 people and housed a French kitchen, top gourmet chefs and 300 employees. The restaurant-cabaret club quickly became not only famous in New York but also known throughout the country and internationally. It was a common occurrence that customers would have to wait in long lines simply to enter the restaurant. He later recalled that he spent $50,000 a year advertising a $250,000 business.
In the spring of 1921, shortly after the passage of the Volstead Act
, Churchill sold his restaurant and sold the building to a syndicate of American and Chinese food dealers who opened a chop suey
restaurant in its place. He was invited to Washington, D.C.
and personally approached President Warren G. Harding
to offer him the position of Prohibition Administrator for the state of New York. He declined the appointment and said to the president "Mr. Harding, I sold liquor for about fifteen years before prohibition went into effect. What would you think of a man who would turn tail on his friends who are now selling liquor and try to stamp them out ? I must refuse the appointment".
Churchill traveled abroad following the close of his restaurant. On his return, he found that the city had changed during Prohibition
. Among these, he commented on the subject on the employment of women in the restaurant industry "Hostesses ? There were no such things in my days. No one ever thought of such a thing. It was not permitted that any woman should come into a restaurant-cabaret unaccompanied. Instead of the hostesses, I employed thirty boys, one of them the late Rudolph Valentino
, to dance with women who came unescorted for luncheon".
In January 1930, he and his family visited Atlantic City, New Jersey
. While staying at the Hotel Traymore, he died from a severe attack of bronchial pneumonia on January 19, 1930. His wife Anna and his three daughters were with him at the time of his death and afterwards brought him back to New York for burial.
Police captain
- France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant....
. He was the founder of the Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
-cabaret club
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
"Churchill's", located on Forty-Ninth Street, which became one of the most popular establishments in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for over a decade prior to Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
.
Biography
Jim Churchill was born in Manhattan, New York in 1863. He was raised on Forty-Ninth Street, just "two steps off Broadway", and left elementary school at 4th grade to go to work. At age 21, he joined the New York City Police DepartmentNew York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
and was assigned to Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
where he remained for the next 20 years. Many of his most memorable stories came from his adventures he had as a patrolman. He retired at the rank of police captain
Police captain
- France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant....
around 1904 and, at the suggestion of friends, eventually entered the restaurant business.
He opened his first restaurant on Broadway which became an immediate success. His menu of chops
CHOPS
Chops is the stage name of Scott Jung, an Asian American hip hop producer, rapper and former member of the Asian American Hip-Hop group the Mountain Brothers. Jung grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has Chinese ancestry...
, potatoes and ice cold beer
Ice Cold Beer
Ice Cold Beer is the name of a mechanical arcade game originally released by Taito in 1983. The game is in a similar cabinet to an arcade video game, but where the screen would normally be there is a vertical wooden playfield dotted with holes...
attracted very large crowds and soon found his establishment to small to accommodate his customers. He sold his shop and bought a bigger place of Forty-Sixth Street, which seated 350 people, but this too proved too small and he eventually opened "Churchill's" in 1909. His establishment, built near his childhood home on Forty-Ninth Street, was built to seat 1,200 people and housed a French kitchen, top gourmet chefs and 300 employees. The restaurant-cabaret club quickly became not only famous in New York but also known throughout the country and internationally. It was a common occurrence that customers would have to wait in long lines simply to enter the restaurant. He later recalled that he spent $50,000 a year advertising a $250,000 business.
In the spring of 1921, shortly after the passage of the Volstead Act
Volstead Act
The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was the enabling legislation for the Eighteenth Amendment which established prohibition in the United States...
, Churchill sold his restaurant and sold the building to a syndicate of American and Chinese food dealers who opened a chop suey
Chop suey
Chop suey is a Chinese dish consisting of meat and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery and bound in a starch-thickened sauce...
restaurant in its place. He was invited to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and personally approached President Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
to offer him the position of Prohibition Administrator for the state of New York. He declined the appointment and said to the president "Mr. Harding, I sold liquor for about fifteen years before prohibition went into effect. What would you think of a man who would turn tail on his friends who are now selling liquor and try to stamp them out ? I must refuse the appointment".
Churchill traveled abroad following the close of his restaurant. On his return, he found that the city had changed during Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
. Among these, he commented on the subject on the employment of women in the restaurant industry "Hostesses ? There were no such things in my days. No one ever thought of such a thing. It was not permitted that any woman should come into a restaurant-cabaret unaccompanied. Instead of the hostesses, I employed thirty boys, one of them the late Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino
Rudolph Valentino was an Italian actor, and early pop icon. A sex symbol of the 1920s, Valentino was known as the "Latin Lover". He starred in several well-known silent films including The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, The Sheik, Blood and Sand, The Eagle and Son of the Sheik...
, to dance with women who came unescorted for luncheon".
In January 1930, he and his family visited Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
. While staying at the Hotel Traymore, he died from a severe attack of bronchial pneumonia on January 19, 1930. His wife Anna and his three daughters were with him at the time of his death and afterwards brought him back to New York for burial.