William's Tavern

Williams’ Tavern appeared in the Green Book from 1947-1955. It was located at 821 S. 8th Street in Wilmington, North Carolina. It was listed in the Green Book “William’s--8th & Dawson Sts.” under “Taverns.” The shop was owned by Clarence R. Williams and Harvey W. Williams. While the Green Book lists the restaurant as “William’s Tavern,” advertisements for the establishment indicated that the name was “Williams’ Tavern.” ¹

Williams’ Tavern was a white-owned restaurant and café that served black and white patrons. While Clarence R. Williams operated a restaurant at this address in 1942 and sanitation ratings for Williams’ Tavern appear as early as 1943, the Williams brothers, Clarence Raymond Williams and Harvey Woodrow Williams, announced the formal opening of the restaurant on June 18th, 1945. Located at 8th and Dawson Streets (with a street address of 821 S. 8th Street), the restaurant was advertised as “Williams’ Tavern and Café,” a “new and modern,” “fireproof” restaurant with booths, counter service and a private, reservation-only dining room. The tavern served “foods of all kinds, including sandwiches and regular dinners,” along with draught and bottled beer and soft drinks.²

The advertisement for the tavern’s open noted that an “experienced chef” would “prepare all food.” This was likely Harvey Williams. Born in Wilmington in 1912, Harvey was working as a ship’s messman by the age of 18, working his way up to become a ship’s cook by 1940. Prior to joining his brother at Williams’ Tavern he worked for Panama Transport Company, based at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Since he primarily lived at sea, he usually used a sibling’s home address.³
 
Clarence Raymond Williams, born in Wilmington in 1915, worked as a plumber at Tide Water Power Company prior to the opening of Williams’ Tavern. He and his wife, Sybil, lived at 803 S. 13th Street until 1948, when the couple moved to a home at 510 Sunset Avenue. Harvey and his wife, Ruth, moved to a home at 510 Park Terrace that same year. Clarence owned additional businesses over the years, including Tidewater Lunch.⁴

Williams’ Tavern remained in its location at 821 S. 8th Street the entire time it was advertised in the Green Book. In 1956, the restaurant moved to 823 S. 8th Street, where it remained until at least 1963.⁵

Harvey Woodrow Williams died on January 26, 1972, in Rochester, New York. Clarence Raymond Williams died on January 17, 1995, in Wilmington.⁶

Essay by Brandie K. Ragghianti, 2019

Notes

1. Victor Green, 1947 Green Book, 66; Green, 1948 Green Book, 63; Green, 1949 Green Book, 58; Green, 1950 Green Book, 64; Green, 1951 Green Book, 55; Green, 1952 Green Book, 55; Green, 1953 Green Book, 55; Green, 1954 Green Book, 54; Green, 1955 Green Book, 54;  “Announcing the opening of Williams’ Tavern and Cafe,” The Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, NC), June 17, 1945, p. 2, accessed from https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn78002169/1945-06-17/ed-1/seq-2.
2. “Announcing the opening of Williams’ Tavern and Café;” “Revised Restaurant List of Ratings is Released,” The Wilmington Morning Star (Wilmington, NC), April 23, 1943, p. 8, accessed from https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn78002169/1943-04-23/ed-1/seq-…; Hill’s 1942 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, classified directory, p. 910; Hill’s 1947 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, street directory p. 333, classified directory p. 501, street directory p. 66.
3.  1930 Census of Merchant Seaman, Port of Wilmington, Delaware, digital image s.v. “Harvey Woodrow Williams,” access from www.ancestry.com; 1930 United States Census, Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC, digital image s.v. "Clarence L. Williams" and “Harvey W. Williams,” accessed from www.ancestry.com; “Harvey Woodrow Williams,” New York, New York, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; 1940 United States Census, Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC, digital image s.v. "Harvey Woodrow Williams," accessed from www.ancestry.com; Hill’s 1942 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, classified directory, p. 910.
4. 1940 United States Census, Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC, digital image s.v. "Clarence Williams," accessed from www.ancestry.com; “Clarence Raymond Williams,” Wilmington, New Hanover County, NC, U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947, accessed from www.ancestry.com; Hill’s 1947 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, 310; Hill’s 1948-1949 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, 326.
5. Hill’s 1952 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, 289, 290; Hill’s 1956 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, pp. 348, 349, street directory, p. 12, classified directory, p. 44; Hill’s 1959 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, pp. 393, 394, street directory p. 26, classified directory p. 202; Hill’s 1960 Wilmington (New Hanover County, NC) City Directory, Hill Directory Company, Inc.: Richmond, VA, city directory, pp. 405, 406, street directory p. 27; classified directory p. 22.
6. “Williams, Harvey W.” (obituary), Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY), January 27, 1972, p. 30, accessed from www.newspapers.com; Clarence Raymond Williams, January 17, 1995, Wilmington, NC, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, accessed from www.ancestry.com.