Restaurant ware

Homer Laughlin, the largest pottery in the United States for much of the 20th century, first began producing hotelware in 1959, but by 1970, it ended its production of household porcelain.[10] Homer Laughlin produced hotelware exclusively until the revival of interest in Fiesta Ware led to its reintroduction to its product lines.[11] Although not ceramic and not generally considered hotelware, from 1950 to 1956 Anchor Hocking produced Fire King Jadeite ware that was aimed at catering establishments .[12]

Hotelware coffee mug for the Humboldt restaurant in Rostock, Germany.

Buffalo Pottery plate made for Chesapeake & Ohio Railway c.1932

Buffalo Pottery was founded in Buffalo, New York in 1901.[13][14] For most of the 20th century, Buffalo Pottery manufactured custom institutional, restaurant, railroad, steamship, and hotel ware. The company produced ware for such entities as the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (George Washington and Chessie Cat services), the Greenbrier, the Ahwahnee Hotel at Yosemite, the Roycroft Inn, the 1939 New York World's Fair, and the U.S. Navy.[15] Changing its name to Buffalo China, Inc. in 1956, the company was one of the largest manufacturers of commercial chinaware in the United States.[16] Buffalo China was sold to Oneida Limited in 1983,[17] and went out of operation in 2004.[18]

The hotelware industry in the United States faced many challenges beginning in the late 1980s. Following the economic downturn of 1987 and the 1990s, restaurants were hit hard by a decline in consumer spending and demand for hotelware declined by 20%.[19] At the same time, Americans consumed fast-food in disposable containers at an increasing rate, putting more pressure on the US hotelware industry.[20] By the early 21st century, Syracuse China, which had for decades been a major producer of hotelware, ended manufacture in the US and outsourced production overseas.[21]