Here’s a photograph from the March 8 1929 edition of the Toronto Daily Star of restaurant magnate William Childs, who had just lost control of the restaurant chain that bore his name.
At its peak in 1925, the Childs Restaurants chain included 107 restaurants in 29 cities and served 50 million meals every year. But, starting in 1927, Childs imposed his vegetarian preferences on the chain’s menu, which proved unpopular. He resigned as president in December 1928 and was forced off the company’s board on March 7 1929, the day before this photo appeared in the paper.
After leaving his company, Childs opened a restaurant near his home in Franklin Corners, New Jersey, that was still in operation as of 2009. He also opened two old-world themed restaurants in New York, called Old Algiers and Old London. He passed away in 1938.
The company re-introduced meat to its menu after Childs’ departure, along with alcohol after Prohibition was repealed, but it lost money after being granted the hot dog vending license for the 1939 World’s Fair. Childs Restaurants went bankrupt in 1943 but continued to operate through the 1950s with a smaller number of restaurants.
In 1955, the company went into hotel management and renamed itself the Hotel Corporation of America. The company’s remaining restaurants were sold in 1961.
Toronto Old News 