Pierce's 1894 Restaurant - Elmira Heights, NY

Pierce's 1894, the award winning, four star restaurant, had a very modest beginning. Although always in the Pierce family, Pierce's 1894 was at various times a straw hat factory; cigar factory; bar and grill; hotel and bar; pool hall; gas station; and even a bowling alley! As one traces the history of Pierce's, an intriguing tale unfolds, which involves lots of imagination, hard work, and even a little luck.

It all began when pioneer son, Crawford Henry Pierce, rather than going west as was the fashion of the day, looked north to carve his future. He became a founding father in the new community of Elmira Heights with the purchase of two $200.00 lottery tickets.

From a barrel on the stage of the Lyceum Theater in Elmira, he pulled two numbers. Each number entitled him to a plot of land in the new community, converted from farm land. He fared extremely well in the drawing and built a Victorian House on one plot and established a business on the other which was to become the main corner of the village. From this unique start came the Crawford Hotel in 1894 and finally Pierce's" 1894" as it is known today. The corner passed down to Crawford Joseph Pierce and finally to Joseph Slocum Pierce the present owner!

Crawford Pierce first opened a short lived straw hat factory, then the Double Decker Cigar Factory, the second business to come to Elmira Heights, in 1894. Crawford Henry borrowed the name from the Double Decker Trolleys which passed by the factory en route from Elmira. In the early 1900's the cigar factory was made intotheCrawford Hotel featuring a locally popular public bar and dining room.

Crawford Henry was a shrewd business man and ran the bar according to his own "two whiskey theory". It was his opinion that the bar need stock only two grades of whiskey, one a little more expensive than the other.

Realizing that alcohol dulls the senses, Pierce kept his customers happy by serving the best first and his cash register happy by switching to the cheaper whiskey during the course of the evening.

Some years later Roger Dugan, the proprietor of the cafe next door retired, and Pierce bought the building. He remodeled it and installed two bowling alleys. His business venture was successful until the dry spell of 1920 PROHIBITION!

At this point he turned the business over to his young and innovative son, Crawford Joseph, already a full time clerk at the Elmira Heights Post Office. This Pierce turned the business into a pool room and a gas station with seven pumps surrounding the premises. Radios and tires were sold from the room which would eventually become the Pine Room of Pierce's 1894 Resturant.

Crawford Joseph was able to purchase an International Tanker Truck in 1926 which he used to transport gas from his bulk tanks on College Avenue, one mile away, to his active pumps on the site of the present restaurant. In this way he was able to follow the family tradition by remaining independent and managing to sell the gasoline at a lesser price. In 1976 Joseph S. Pierce reacquired the same International Tanker Truck from the local industry he sold it to in 1955. The truck has been restored and driven in local parades and will soon be housed in a building on restaurant property for the public to enjoy.

Prohibition was finally repealed in 1934 and Crawford joyously reopened the bar. The workingman's bar was a popular place, serving 5c glasses of beer, and 15c shots of whiskey. Pierce's became a much frequented lunch spot, largely because of the efforts of the chief cook, who was Crawford Joseph's wife, Emma Slocum Pierce. She was a wizard in the kitchen, and pleased the lunch time crowds with her famous veal cutlet, reputed to be the best in town.

Now comes another imaginative Pierce, Joseph Slocum, grandson of the founder. He graduated in 1942 from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, acquiring a special knowledge and interest in the food industry. After a stint in the Air Force during World War II, he returned to Elmira Heights in 1945 and decided to put his education to good use. He knew that the area needed more than just a good bar, it needed a good restuarant! With his father's help he remodeled the bar to accommodate kitchen equipment. The first dinner of this era was served in Pierce's on April 15, 1949. The founder, Crawford Henry Pierce, did not live to see the latest change in the original straw hat factory. He died suddendly in 1948.

The Pierce family pooled their talents and ran the bar and restaurant until 1952 when the death of Crawford Joseph Pierce left young Pierce and his wife, Lee to manage the business alone. Like true Pierces, they put the building through a variety of changes and the elegance of Pierce's 1894 today, seating 375, is a result of their efforts.

Four first floor dining rooms each with a seating capacity of approximately 50 provide comfortable dining in unique settings. The walls of the bar lounge and Pine Room are lined with one of the most extensive bottle collections in the country, started in 1949, and now numbering over 3,000. There is also a large collection in the Wine Cellar and Wine Cellar Dining Room. The beautiful Brazilian Rosewood 1894 Room on the second floor and the Wine Cellar Dining Room (appropriately located between two wine cellars on the lower level) are available for banquets and private parties.

Despite its out-of-the-way location in Elmira Heights, Pierce's 1894 has attracted considerable recognition for its endeavors in the restaurant industry. The menu, service, and $100,000 wine cellars were unrivaled from New York to Chicago. In 1966 Pierce's 1894 was recommended in HOLIDAY MAGAZINE and was awarded four stars by the MOBIL TRAVEL GUIDE. This status has been maintained ever since. In 1971 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE increased Pierce's rating to Award-Winning status, a distinction that continues today. By anyone's standards, Pierce's 1894 is a shining star! The future of Pierce's promises to unfold into a tale as intriguing as its history with a young cast of characters in supporting roles, Joe and Lee's four children, who all started working at the restaurant at age 12.

The fourth generation begins with Lida and husband Wayne Small who contributed for seven years from 1966 to 1973 before returning to Virginia. Second daughter Jeanne and her husband, Paul Ryan, were added to the cast in 1971, and play major roles today. Crawford Joseph 11, graduated from the Cornell Hotel School in 1975, and has been following in his father's footsteps ever since; and Joe's twin sister Willa has been a part of the crew since 1971. Along the way, Joe's and Willa's spouses, Deborah Willkens and Bill Berry have added their talents to the production.

Pierce's is indeed a family business. But wait isn't someone missing? Behind every great man you'll find a good woman, and standing right behind, or rather beside, Joe Sr. is his wife Lee. She provided invaluable support for Joe, working as a cook and chief errand runner way back when. Lee now manages all of Pierce's on - and off - premises catering as well as lending a creative touch in menu planning. Pierce's has also been fortunate to have loyal, creative, and hard-working employees.

Frequent buying trips and a thorough knowledge of the wine market had allowed Pierce's to develop one of the finest wine cellars in the country. The wine selections numbered 350 from a carefully maintained list which is frequently revised. At one time the two wine cellars contained over 30,000 bottles of domestic and imported wines.

That's how it all started. Put a family of intelligent, involved people together with a staff of capable, loyal employees and you have the wines and fortunes of Pierce's!

Paintings of Pierce's 1894 Restaurant by Joanne Smith