Dewey's Restaurant (by Lilly Melquist)

Most people typically think the now-famous riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York City in June of 1969 started the LGBTQ Rights Movement. However, before Stonewall, the first significant act of LGBTQ resistance was a sit-in. Taking inspiration from the Black Civil Rights Movement, the first LGBTQ sit-in took place at a small coffee shop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, called Dewey’s Restaurant. 

Dewey’s was a small restaurant chain in the greater Philadelphia area. The first location was opened in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the mid-1930s by Louis Yesner (1894-1979). The chain eventually expanded to have up to about 15 restaurants in the area (1). Two of these locations were significant gathering places for members of the LGBTQ community. The first location is known as the 13th street location. This location was known for being open all night, so it was a prevalent place for people to frequent after going to the bars. It even became known as the “fag” Dewey’s to locals because one would often see drag queens, hustlers, and other gay people at the location. The 13th Street location was tolerant of gay and gender-nonconforming customers (2). The 17th street location of Dewey’s, located near Rittenhouse Square, was also associated with the LGBTQ community. This location was less tolerant, a fact that eventually led to the community organizing a sit-in, but it was still a popular gathering place. In the 1970s, the location became a new restaurant called Little Pete’s, which closed in 2017 (3).

One day in the spring of 1965, a bunch of queer teenagers was inside the 17th Street Dewey’s being “rowdy.” Eventually, the 17th Street location managers became aggravated and told their employees to deny service to anyone exhibiting “improper” behavior. Workers began to deny service to anyone who looked or acted homosexual or dressed in a gender-nonconforming fashion. This policy led to the anger and frustration of many local teenagers. The teens then partnered with the Janus Society, a local Philadelphia gay and lesbian group that based themselves after the west coast’s Mattachine Society, founded in 1950 (4). On Sunday, April 25th, 1965, one hundred and fifty people of all races, sexualities, and gender identities walked into the 17th Street Dewey’s and sat in protest (5). That day, three people have arrested: two young men and one young woman. Clark Polak (1937-1980), the president of the Janus Society and editor of the LGBT-interest magazine DRUM, offered legal assistance to the three jailed teenagers. Sadly, he failed in his efforts to free them and was arrested for his participation in the sit-in. The following week, members of the Janus Society stood outside the 17th Street Dewey’s, handing out approximately fifteen hundred pamphlets (6). On May 2nd, 1965, the teenagers and the Janus Society held a second, smaller sit-in. No one was arrested this time. The police got a call, and upon their arrival, they decided they could not force anyone to leave, so they left without doing anything. The sit-in continued for another hour until, eventually, management made a negotiation ending discrimination at the restaurant (7). Anyone could come into the restaurant to eat and be served, no matter their sexual orientation. 

The protest at Dewey’s Restaurant in Philadelphia is an unknown turning point in the fight for LGBTQ rights. It is not just the first sit-in for LGBTQ rights in Philadelphia, but it was the first queer sit-in in the entire United States (8). DRUM Magazine reported that the sit-in was the first sit-in of its kind in United States history (9). The LGBTQ community saw how powerful and how much of an impact sit-in had when held by black civil rights activists. The Mattachine Society established the idea that gay activists should dress in a gender-conforming fashion. Mattachine advocated for peaceful protests, but the community realized such actions were not enough. When it came to the sit-in at Dewey’s, the teens and the Janus Society knew that if they wanted to make a difference, they must do something to grab the attention of the people around them and make their voices heard. They saw that sit-ins did that for the black community, so they did it themselves—and it worked. Their actions help to give LGBTQ people the confidence and the courage to stand up four years later at the Stonewall Inn in New York. Without Stonewall, the LGBTQ Rights Movement would not be where it is today, and without Dewey’s, we would not have Stonewall. The Janus Society even said the sit-in resulted in “an immediate cessation to all indiscriminate denials of service.” The actions at Dewey’s also inspired activism within different parts of the community, such as butch women and feminine men, transgender people, genderqueer people, and queer people of color. When people weren’t held to the high standard of Mattachine-led protests, those people could not participate, or if they did, they had to hide parts of themself to fit the standards. The full spectrum of queer life in America was not represented in Mattachine protests. At Dewey’s, however, the community was more broadly represented. This led to a greater feeling of acceptance that impacted later events such as Stonewall. The sit-in at Dewey’s restaurant is one of the most significant, yet unknown, protests in the history of the LGBTQ community in America. 

Footnotes

1. Susan Ferenantinos, “Dewey’s Lunch Counter Sit-In,” 2016, https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/deweys-lunch-counter-sit-in/.

2.  Bob Skiba, “Before there was Stonewall, There was Dewey’s,” Philadelphia Gay News, May 24th, 2017 8:57 pm, https://epgn.com/2017/05/24/before-there-was-stonewall-there-was-dewey-s/.

3. Bob Skiba, “Before there was Stonewall, There was Dewey’s,” Philadelphia Gay News, May 24th, 2017, 8:57 pm, https://epgn.com/2017/05/24/before-there-was-stonewall-there-was-dewey-s/.

4.  Reddebrek, “1965: Philadelphia Dewey’s Restaurant Sit In,” Posted January 25, 2017, 3:13, https://libcom.org/history/1965-philadelphia-deweys-restaurant-sit.

5. Marc Stein, “Recalling Dewey’s sit-in,” Philadelphia Gay News, April 29th, 2005, http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=qth&AN=16999393&site=ehost-live.

6. Reddebrek, “1965: Philadelphia Dewey’s Restaurant Sit In,” Posted January 25, 2017, 3:13, https://libcom.org/history/1965-philadelphia-deweys-restaurant-sit.

7. Bob Skiba, “With Demolition Likely, RIP Dewey’s Famous,” August 11, 2014,  https://hiddencityphila.org/2014/08/with-demolition-likely-rip-deweys-famous/.

8. Susan Ferenantinos, “Dewey’s Lunch Counter Sit-In,” 2016, https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/deweys-lunch-counter-sit-in/.

9. Reddebrek, “1965: Philadelphia Dewey’s Restaurant Sit In,” Posted January 25, 2017, 3:13, https://libcom.org/history/1965-philadelphia-deweys-restaurant-sit.

Bibliography

 

Ferentinos, Susan. “Dewey’s Lunch Counter Sit-In.” 2016. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/deweys-lunch-counter-sit-in/.

Reddebrek. “1965: Philadelphia Dewey’s Restaurant Sit In.” January 25th, 2017 3:13. https://libcom.org/history/1965-philadelphia-deweys-restaurant-sit.

 

Skiba, Bob. “Before there was Stonewall, there was Dewey’s.” Philadelphia Gay News, May 24th, 2017 8:57 pm. https://epgn.com/2017/05/24/before-there-was-stonewall-there-was-dewey-s/.

 

Skiba, Bob. “With Demolition Likely, RIP Dewey’s Famous.” August 11, 2014. https://hiddencityphila.org/2014/08/with-demolition-likely-rip-deweys-famous/.

 

Stein, Marc. “Recalling Dewey’s sit-in.” Philadelphia Gay News, April 29, 2005. http://dbsearch.fredonia.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=qth&AN=16999393&site=ehost-live.