"The Dwarf" Restaurant/ What Do You Know About It?

July 8, 2011 4:22 PM

I purchased a few pieces of vintage reataurantware that came from a restaurant called, "The Dwarf," The body of the the vitreous china is white and the rim is decorated with a green airbrished, stenciled oak leaf design. Inside the rim of the plate, cup and on the saucer are a dwarf wearing what looks to be an acorn hat. He's facing right and is dressed in maroon and green. Beneath him are the words, "The Dwarf." There is some speculation that The Dwarf was the original Chik-Fil-A. May not be the case. Any information about the restaurant will be much appreciated!

here's the link to a picture

posted by mickeefynn to Society & Culture (8 answers total)

The Chick-Fil-A restaurant is known as "The Dwarf House," not the "The Dwarf." You probably have done this, but if you look at Chick-Fil-A's entry on Wikipedia they have a small history of "The Dwarf House." Basically, there are a number of restraunts in the Georgia/Atlanta area that are a combined Dwarf House and Chick-Fil-A. I ate at one of the combined Dwarf House/Chick-Fil-A restaurants in May and it's safe to say they did not use these plates. They used standard white china. The whole experience was pretty bizarre, because up until that day I did not know about "The Dwarf House" and the Chick-Fil-A relationship. Of course, the plates could have been used at a Dwarf House restaurant at some point, but because the name on the plates isn't even the same name as the restaurant...I would be pretty skeptical of that claim. Some more information on the restaurant (or at least the location I went to) is that the front of the building had a small door, a "dwarf entrance," there was a separate area that looked like a typical Chick-Fil-A restaurant inside of the restaurant, and "The Dwarf House" had it's own special menu that had all of the items contained on the standard Chick-Fil-A menu as well as a few additional things, though I don't remember what they were so they must not have been too out of the ordinary. This section of the restaurant was nicer than the casual area and, as I said, they brought everything out on real plates and we had an actual waitress. Hopefully this helps!
posted by lucy.jakobs at 4:39 PM on July 8, 2011

A little googling reveals that there was a Dwarf restaurant in Tennessee but it doesn't show the china. The original Chik-Fil-A is the Dwarf House in Hapeville, just south of Atlanta. It looks like your china was made by Royal Jackson if that clue is helpful.
posted by TedW at 4:41 PM on July 8, 2011

Response by poster: My friend and I (both long time restaurantware collectors with all the sleuthiness that involves) have Googled our eyeballs raw to no avail. So keep it comin' folks!
posted by mickeefynn at 4:49 PM on July 8, 2011

Best answer: Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant in the mid-40s: the Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, GA. His second was the Dwarf House in nearby Jonesboro. In these kitchens he developed his recipe for the fried chicken fillet sandwich he called Chik-Fil-A. He licensed the recipe to other restaurants, then opened a Chik-Fil-A restaurant in 1967. (He also asked shopping malls to rent him space, but was told "Nobody eats at a mall.")

Does your china goes back to Cathy's Dwarf restaurants? I don't see any evidence one way or the other. The absence of 'Grill' or 'House' isn't significant: there's no reason a joint called Dwarf Grill wouldn't put "The Dwarf" -- its mascot -- on its plates. But did it? I've eaten there for 50 years, and I don't remember. For decades both Dwarf restaurants have been standard Chik-Fil-A in all things, except for the inclusion of Dwarf in the name

Why don't you send the photo to their HQ? I bet they'd answer.
posted by LonnieK at 7:05 AM on July 9, 2011

* oops. Not Jonesboro -- Forest Park. Sorry Pop. (My father designed it.)
posted by LonnieK at 7:09 AM on July 9, 2011

Response by poster: LonnieK... thanks for your response. I agree The Dwarf image could have been used regardless of the formal name of the places. I like your idea of sending the pics to Chik HQs. I'll do that!
posted by mickeefynn at 7:23 PM on July 9, 2011

Response by poster: Just wanted to report that I did contact Chick-Fil-A headquarters and they researched the pattern. They have said there is NO connection with The Dwaf or The Dwarf House. So that connection has been eliminated.
posted by mickeefynn at 2:03 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

The scientific method in action -- good work mickeefynn.
posted by LonnieK at 4:03 PM on July 14, 2011