Howard Johnson and 1963 March on Washington
135th Street, Harlem NY, Courtesy of the New York Public Library
August is National Sandwich Month in America. We share this story on Howard Johnson and his restaurant as they relate to the Civil Rights Movement. We seek to inform our readers on the role that businesses like HoJo’s play in bringing about social reform.
In 1963 Howard Johnson’s, (Ho Jo’s) founded in the early 1900’s, had the only nationwide chain of hotels and restaurants in the United States. The company also had monopoly control of all of the rest stop refreshment stands on then newly constructed New Jersey Turnpike. It’s not clear if organizers of the march negotiated with Ho Jos but the restaurant chain made massive changes in its turnpike concessions for the march. Previous to March its stands remained open for bus traffic on the turnpike “only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday” reported the New York Times on August 28, 1963. Benton E. Caldon, New Jersey manager for the refreshment stands, moved to expand bus parking at turnpike rest stops from 85 per stop to 800 and kept the stands open between 1 and 6 weekdays and weekends. He increased his staff from three shifts of 22 people employees to two shifts of 200. He stocked piled his supplies at the stands to have on hand “6,000 half-pint containers of soft drinks, 2,400 half-pints of milk, 2,400 ham sandwiches, 12,000 frankfurters and 5,400 chicken halves” reported the Times.
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