One guest received a long-overdue meal at New York City’s Roosevelt Hotel after discovering a $2.50 dinner coupon from 1941.
Guest Barbara Capozzola Alloway showed the hotel’s staff in midtown Manhattan a letter that her mother had received in 1941, congratulating her for winning “the Arthur Murray participation dance contest” and offering her a meal at the hotel’s restaurant on the house, a $2.50 bill. Alloway’s mother has since passed away, and the couple planned the New York visit to honour her memory.
“[Alloway] showed us the letter, and we looked at it and thought it was unbelievable,” Keith Riker, the Roosevelt’s director of lounge operations said.
He knew the letter was legitimate because it was on the hotel’s official letterhead and had been signed by the general manager who had worked there at the time. Riker and his team agreed to honour the 1941 price of the dinner, and the Alloway’s enjoyed a dinner at the Madison Club Lounge, which replaced the original Roosevelt Grill. They were welcomed with a complimentary bottle of champagne, and ordered appetizers, entrees and dessert. At the end, a server delivered a bill for $5.
Riker made a copy of the letter for the hotel’s records, but insisted that Alloway save the original.
“I was amazed by the letter. There were no other stories like this one.”
In addition to their nostalgic dinner, the couple spent time sightseeing and taking in the city during their weekend getaway.
The Roosevelt shared the story on its Facebook page, writing “We keep our promises.”
Riker said of the Alloways, “They said they’d be back.”
