Events

Runs until Tuesday, December 31st, 2030

Mr. Joey Gives A Lesson On The Cafeteria No one knows the exact date the American cafeteria started. However, many restaurant historians and aficionados consider September 4, 1885, the day the Exchange Buffet opened its doors in New York City, as its beginning. Historians also believe the idea of the cafeteria, as we know it today, was driven by the need to serve affordable meals efficiently to large groups of people, particularly women. Given the reason behind the concept, there’s no surprise that, in 1891, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Kansas City, Missouri took the lead and established what many consider the first true cafeteria. Two years later in 1893, Entrepreneur John Kruger introduced the term ‘cafeteria’, and the rest was history, or should we say “herstory.” If you found this abridged history lesson on cafeteria dining interesting, you’ll need to thank longtime Magnolia Room customer and cafeteria aficionado Joey Seguin, or “Mr. Joey” as he’s affectionately known by the Magnolia Room family. Growing up in Macon, Georgia in the 1950s and 60s, one of Seguin’s earliest memories is eating at the S&S Cafeteria. “We ate at the cafeteria a lot,” said Seguin. “If we weren’t eating at the S &S Cafeteria, we were eating at another cafeteria.” Seguin has been coming to the Magnolia Room daily (at least five days a week) since the restaurant opened in 2017. Why? Because it reminds him of his grandmother’s cooking. “Everything here reminds me of the food my grandmother would make. The only thing Magnolia hasn’t mastered is my great-grandmother’s deviled eggs. I don’t think anyone will, she may have taken that one with her,” he said jokingly. Everything else I’ve had here has been a match or better than what I knew before.” In addition to being a daily diner, Seguin is the cafeteria’s biggest promoter. In fact, just last year, he referred over 100 people to the restaurant. His strategy, tell them about true southern food, cafeteria dining, and a man, Louis Squires, who opened the Magnolia Room Cafeteria so that he would have somewhere to eat. According to Seguin, the golden age of the cafeteria started all over again the day the Magnolia Room opened.