An unassuming Florida Ave. row house used to be home to one of the most successful Black-owned restaurants in D.C. – Harrison's Cafe. Opened in 1920 by Robert Hilliard Harrison and his wife Lottie Harrison, the restaurant aimed to offer a first-class dining experience to African Americans who were excluded from the posh restaurants downtown.
The joint served up everything from 20-cent hamburgers to full lobster dinners and was popular among Howard professors, students, and LeDroit locals.
To avoid the city's strict midnight liquor curfew, Harrison's served alcohol in private rooms above the café, where patrons could continue the festivities until the wee hours of the morning.
The establishment shut down in 1962, shortly after Robert Harrison's death, but it was an establishment in the community for over 40 years with almost no rivals.
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