The Palm Garden opened in Salisbury on Main Street in 1906. Opening day had an orchestra playing and they gave out 1,000 carnations as souvenirs. The Palm Garden was one of about a thousand restaurants by that name in this time period. The color scheme in the restaurant was green and white and naturally it had palms for decoration.
above the interior of the Palm Garden
The restaurant and catering service was started by The Palm Garden Refreshment Co with P. A. Brown as president and G. A. M Willson. The restaurant changed management and ownership over the years but it lasted till about 1917. It was a popular meeting place for organizations and private parties and our hypothetical Delmar family may have went down to the restaurant after church for ice cream and a light lunch.
above 1912 ad
About 1912 John Stuart Barnette bought the company. John Barnette was a merchant in Dover and a real estate operator in New Jersey. His connection with Dover could be the reason the Palm Garden served ice cream from a mid-Delaware dairy instead of a Salisbury Ice Cream plant.
John Barnette (1869-1948) was born in Princess Anne, Maryland to John William Barnette and Sarah Jane Martin. He had two brothers; Thomas L Barnette and Paul M Barnette. Thomas Barnette (1868-1935) was a businessman in Princess Anne and Paul Barnette (1871- ) was a businessman in Laurel Delaware. John worked in Dover. They, with their wives, all were very successful and were into a wide range of businesses. John had married in 1903 to Daisey Moffett.
After the Palm Garden went out of business, a Palm Garden popped up in Crisfield. To my knowledge there was no business connection only the same name, like I said it was popular name for a restaurant.
1929 ad
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