A variety of eating establishments served the needs of Hartford's workers and visitors, ranging from simple neighborhood cafes to elegant restaurants. Many employers, including large manufacturers and insurance companies began providing cafeterias for their workers. A wide variety of ethnic restaurants flourished, especially in Hartford's Front Street neighborhood. Following to the passage of the Volstead Act in 1919, none of these restaurants could legally serve alcoholic beverages.

Employee cafeteria: Interior.
Ref. # 1995.36.719

Customer cafeteria. Interior.
Ref. # 11995.36.819

Honiss's Oyster House, which opened for business in 1845, remained a Hartford landmark well into the 20th century.
Ref. # 1995.36.848

Interior. Dudley's picture of a drugstore soda fountain, with its nattily-dressed customers and ads for cold buttermilk, orangeade and ginger ale, offers a nostalgic glimpse of Hartford during the period of Prohibition. The cut-out in the right foreground is part of an advertisement.
Ref. # 1995.36.1105