Fred Harvey Company

A cover of the 1909 Santa Fe Railway pamphlet describing Fred Harvey hotels, dining rooms and sample menus

The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States. It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey to cater to the growing number of train passengers.

When Harvey died in 1901, his family inherited 45 restaurants and 20 dining cars in 12 states.[1] During World War II, Harvey Houses opened again to serve soldiers as they traveled in troop trains across the U.S.[2] By 1968, when it was sold to Amfac, Inc. (now Xanterra Parks and Resorts, as of 2002), the Fred Harvey Company was the sixth largest food retailer in the United States.[3] It left behind a lasting legacy of good food, dedication to customers, decent treatment of employees, and preservation of local traditions.[4][5]

  1. ^ Harvey House Restaurants, Kansapedia, The Kansas Historical Society
  2. ^ Poling-Kempres, Lesley (1989). The Harvey Girls: Women Who Opened the West. New York: Avalon Publishing Group. ISBN 9781569249260.
  3. ^ Fred Harvey (Firm). Fred Harvey Company Records, 1889–2005, Northern Arizona University
  4. ^ Fred Harvey: Branding the Southwest, Special Collections and Archives, Northern Arizona University, 2015.
  5. ^ Fried, Stephen. Appetite for America: how visionary businessman Fred Harvey built a railroad hospitality empire. New York: Bantam Books, 2010. ISBN 978-0-553-80437-9[page needed]