Hotel or Restaurant China, Empire Shape Years: 1960s
While many collectors refer to this as Hotel & Restaurant, the name used on an undated brochure is “Hotel or Restaurant China”. This line was produced exclusively for the restaurant trade. It does not appear on standard dealer price lists because it was not available to the public. And because it did not appear on price lists it is difficult to put a start or end date on the production of this line. Some sources state that production began in 1964. Most likely production continued until the close of the Potteries in 1967.
Hotel & Restaurant pieces in the Empire Shape had a vertical ribbed design on the exterior or around the rim. Pieces were heavy and sturdy, designed to withstand rough and repeated use. Because the line was made to serve customers in a restaurant, the list of items made for Hotel or Restaurant differed considerably from standard household dinnerware patterns. Items available included plates (5 sizes), platters (3 sizes), coffee cups in 2 styles (bell or tall), individual teapot, pot pie bowl, bouillon cup with no handle, tea cup with no handle, individual ashtray, creamer, open sugar, sauce boat, soup bowl (2 sizes), cereal/salad bowl, sauce/fruit bowl, oval bakers (3 sizes), and a lobster-shaped lobster dish.
All pieces were available off the shelf in either white or beige fleck. For an additional charge a trim line could be added; available colors included blue, green, red, yellow and possibly others. Besides the two standard colors, the lobster dish was also available in orange.
Hotel or Restaurant China, Regal Shape Years: 1960s
A recently discovered Hotel or Restaurant brochure lists two different shapes. This brochure most likely was published shortly before the closing of the Potteries. One side of the brochure featured the familiar ribbed Hotel or Restaurant dinnerware, which was described as the Empire Shape. The other side showed the New Regal Shape. Like Empire, Regal dinnerware feels heavy and was promoted as chip resistant. Regal had a smooth surface and was available in white or beige fleck glaze. The brochure does not mention custom orders or colored trim. The brochure listed only a few Regal pieces: Plates in three sizes, Bowls in two sizes, Bouillon Cup and Cup & Saucer. This explains several previously undocumented pieces that have been found in recent years. Regal was likely produced for only a brief period before the Potteries closed in 1967. Examples that are marked have an upright green wing with a block “Red Wing” across the middle.
