What Life Was Like As A Tavern Keeper In The Colonial Era

April 2024 ยท 2 minute read

Many taverns opened very early to provide food for laborers and seamen before they started their days, though formal breakfast was served at 9 a.m., according to Colonial London Town. Breakfast was often the heartiest meal of the day, filled with plenty of meats, bread, and coffee or tea. While the tavern keeper would be up and supervising the goings of the business, she (or sometimes he) likely had workers helping in the kitchen. For harder manual labor, the colonies also had slaves, National Geographic reports. While slaves in the South worked on plantations and farms, those in the northern states were essentially servants, helping keep up homes and businesses, including taverns. 

Tavern help extended throughout the day, as the establishments would serve lunch at around 2 p.m. and then dinner (or supper) at 7 p.m. To make things easier, taverns would sometimes prepare one main meal (such as a roast or soup) that would then be served for both lunch and dinner with a few side dishes. Salted fish, peas, eggs, and sliced cabbage were often part of tavern meals. These were all quick and easy to prepare, leaving more free time for the tavern keeper and the helpers to attend to other business matters. After supper, the tavern keeper would supervise events organized at the establishment, including dancing balls, meetings and discussions, or traveling shows such as musicians or carnivals (per The Gettysburg Historical Journal).

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunCBl29vamtfrLWiwIyloJ%2BdXayutHnLoqKeZZGoeqJ505qtnqqeYrimsc%2BeqWahnmLBqbGMnKalp56erq15xKuYaA%3D%3D