Waldorf System

Waldorf System, Incorporated was the first lunchroom chain in New England, founded by Harry Seymour Kelsey in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1903.

The foundation idea of the Waldorf system is this: the undeviating purpose to maintain worthy dining-places where they will perform real public service, the purpose to serve tasteful food of unquestionable quality to men and women at such small profit per person that we shall have many patrons to make those small profits profitable to our employees and shareholders.Waldorf prepared most foods in central kitchens which distributed individually wrapped portions to its restaurants for reheating and browning.

In 1918, its main commissary occupied the whole of 69 Purchase Street, Boston, a total of 65,000 square feet of floor space, and had 100 employees, working 24 hours a day.

[6] Service was from individual stands run by a "lunch man" and displaying all the menu items except the hot ones, which were ordered from the kitchen.

In 2017, when the space was being renovated to become a branch of the local Clover Food Lab chain, the original Waldorf decor, with college pennants in tile, was exposed.