New Chef at Childs

At Childs, one of the largest U.S. restaurant chains, the mashed potatoes and the balance sheets have been equally soggy. Last week, Childs had a new chef who should be able to whip up both. Into its presidency went John L. Hennessy, 62, a white-haired, genial gourmet with a nice hand at serving up profits.

Only a few weeks ago Hennessy, who has taken just three vacations in 48 years of hard work, announced that he would retire as the $85,000-a-year chairman of the Hotels Statler Co., Inc. Ever since, he has been worrying about what to do with his spare time. Accepting the Childs job, he said: "Childs . . . has a great name, but has slipped financially and in popularity. It should be brought back to its rightful place."

No More Rhubarb. Few businesses grew more spectacularly. In 1889 the Childs brothers, Samuel and William, opened their first restaurant in Manhattan's old Merchant Hotel. Within ten years they earned enough to open ten more; then, on $1,000,000 put up by Oil Promoter A. W. Harris, their white-tiled restaurants mushroomed over the East.

Between 1920 and 1926, Childs never netted less than $1,500,000 a year. The Magazine of Wall Street called it one of the five most depression-proof stocks in the U.S. Then William Childs (Sam had died in 1925) turned faddist, and tried to turn Childs's customers into vegetarians. No more sausages with griddle cakes; no more rhubarb pie (someone had told him rhubarb was poisonous). Customers stayed away in droves, and the depression left Childs stranded with high-priced real estate and leases signed at boom-time rentals.

Through the lean '30s, successive managements did their best to nurse Childs back to health. Such appetizers as "Eat all you want for 60-c-" helped Childs eke out small profits in 1935-36-37, but the next four years found the chain back in the red. During World War II it made money, but not enough to satisfy its stockholders. Last year the company was reorganized. This year sales and profits have dipped below 1947--chiefly because of the flat food.

Behind the Counter. Childs could not have picked a better man than Hennessy to put back the flavor. In his 35 years with the Statler chain, where he began ,as a steward, he spent most of his time showing cooks and waiters how to improve food and service. When the new Hotel Statler opened in Washington, white-aproned Chairman Hennessy put in six months as head chef. Hotels are generally glad to break even on food sales, but Hennessy managed to make 8-10% profit on Statler dining rooms.

To improve Childs's fare, he plans to get behind the service counters himself. Says he: "Nothing burns me up like the abuse of food."

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