Blue Strawbery Restaurant Scrapbook Collection , 1970-1994 – MS076
Provenance: Gift of Ralph “Gene” Brown owner of the Blue Strawbery Restaurant
Citation: Blue Strawbery Restaurant Scrapbook Collection (MS076), Manuscript Collections, Portsmouth Athenaeum
Size: 1 linear ft (3 Hollinger boxes)
Access: No restrictions
Processed by: Lynn Aber and Irene Crosby in 2002
Scope and Content
The collection documents the Blue Strawbery, a restaurant in Portsmouth from 1970 to 1994. The collection consists of scrapbooks, which are arranged chronologically. The scrapbooks are not a business archive, but rather a collection of print material documenting the history of the restaurant. Items include reviews, advertisements, articles regarding the restaurant staff and owners, recipes, ephemera and a few photographs. The collection also contains information about another Portsmouth restaurant, Clarence’s Chowder House, founded by the owners of the Blue Strawbery, at the end of 1972. The original covers, many of which were damaged, have been removed.
Historical Timeline
1970 – Blue Strawbery is established on Ceres St. by Ralph Eugene “Gene” Brown and James Haller
1973 – Restaurant attains national prominence
1976 – Blue Strawbery owners establish the Lee-Fontaine Carriage House in Memphis, TN
1988 – James Haller leaves to become chef at Canterbury Shaker Village in Canterbury, NH
1994 – Restaurant is sold, later to become Lindberg’s Crossing
Folder List
Box 1
Folder 1 1970-1972 Restaurant opening
Folder 2 1973 First national reviews
Folder 3 1974 TV appearances of James Haller and partners
Folder 4 1975 Articles in Gourmet and TV Guide
Folder 5 1976 TV Guide article, Lee-Fountaine Carriage House, cooking classes for the blind, Theatre by the Sea
Folder 6 1977 Lee-Fountaine Carriage House, TV Guide article, The New Yorker article, Bon Appetit
Folder 7 1978 Waitress Marguerite Mathews (also of Pontine Movement Theater) article, closing of Lee-Fountaine Carriage House
Folder 8 1979 Calvin Trillin in “Alice, Let’s Eat”
Box 2
Folder 1 1980 TV Guide article, invitation to 10th anniversary celebration
Folder 2 1981 Jon Kimbell (Managing Director, Theatre by the Sea) article, Food and Wine article
Folder 3 1982 Benefit dinner for NH Association for the Blind, TV Guide article, photo of table setting
Folder 4 1983 NH Profiles article (Haller as Chef of the Year), wine list, article on Haller’s cuisine for the seriously ill
Folder 5 1984 Photos of Haller’s cuisine, articles on cuisine for the seriously ill, article by Haller for Food and Wine
Folder 6 1985 (Book 1) Benefit for Pontine Movement Theatre
Folder 7 1985 (Book 2) Boston Globe article, wine list, painting of Blue Strawbery by William Frank, Clarence’s Chowder House article, photos of restaurant’s Christmas decorations
Folder 8 1986 Photo of restaurant and part of Ceres Street, re-opening of James Haller’s Kitchen on Market Street
Box 3
Folder 1 1987 Benefit for Pontine Movement Theatre and other non-profits, interior photos of the restaurant, Portsmouth Press article regarding possible sale of the restaurant
Folder 2 1988 Photos of Portsmouth Athenaeum, Haller as the chef at Canterbury Shaker Village, sale of restaurant to co-owner Gene Brown
Folder 3 1989 Haller’s wholesale food and catering business in South Berwick, Maine
Folder 4 1990 20th anniversary, letters from Mayor Eileen Foley, letter from Jane Nylander (Director of Strawbery Banke), letter from Kitty Dukakis regarding the mentioning of the Blue Strawbery in her book Now You Know, photos of Ceres Street, the kitchen and dining room
Folder 5 1991 Photos of Market Square from New York Times
Folder 6 1992 Gourmet recipe, noted in German publication GEO
Folder 7 1993 Obituary of Bobby McLane, auction notice for the Oar House Restaurant
Folder 8 1994 Announcement of sale of restaurant, menu, article on Haller’s cookbook What to Eat When You Don’t Feel Like Eating, article regarding Marguerite Mathews, thank you notes from Gene Brown’s friends
Folder 9 1972 Material regarding Clarence’s Chowder House