This Day in Norwood History-April 16, 1949-Grand Opening of Art Johnson’s Quick Service On Route 1

Saturday, April 18 marks the opening day of Arthur Johnson’s Quick Service Lunch stand at the corner of Everett Street and Route One in Norwood.

The forerunner of this immaculately clean, up-to-date stand was the twenty-foot trailer which was a familiar sight on the weekend near O’Toole’s gravel company. Two years ago, Mr. Johnson, who is well qualified for this business, having been an accountant for food corporations for the past twenty years and who is a graduate of the Bentley School, the Selbel Institute of Technology of Chicago, and Dale Carnegie of Boston and is also a director at Dale Carnegie, bought a trailer and started a hot dog stand on Route 1. Good clean food resulted in such a volume of business that it became impossible to handle it from the trailer, so the Johnson family held a conference and decided to erect the stand at Everett Street.

The dispensing room is done in knotty pine with Formica covering for the counter. All the cabinets are shining new and very up-to-date to ensure cleanliness, The workroom is also done in knotty pine with the latest type of sinks and refrigerators. The floors have all been covered with red marbleized rubber tile for the comfort of the employees who have been selected with the utmost care from a list of applications from people of Norwood and Westwood.

Mr. Johnson plans to keep open fifteen hours each day, seven days a week from 10 A.M. to 1 A.M. His menu will include sandwiches of all kinds, coffee, soda, ice cream, and all the kinds of food sold at snack bars. Here is parking space for two hundred cars and the grounds have been beautifully landscaped with grass and evergreens. Mr. Johnson will be assisted by Mrs. Johnson and their son, Norman, making it a family enterprise.