The first restaurant and bakery was built in 1883 just north of the Dakota House by H.P. Merrill. By August it was sold to William Lenham who leased it to M.F. Skinner. In 1887 Henry Retzlaff purchased the business and ran it along with his hotel for a number of years.
E.C. Ward ran his Farmers Home Restaurant on Lenham Avenue. In 1887 he sold it to Emil Marquardt who moved the building in 1892 across the block to Burrell
Avenue (73-10). Here he operated the Farmers' Home Restaurant for years, changing the name of his restaurant and confectionery to Marquardt's Palace of Sweets about 1900. During the 1920's Emil Marquardt retired, leaving the business in charge of his son Otto. Marquardt's remained in that location until 1929 when a fire burned out a section of stores on the block, including the Palace of Sweets. Otto operated the restaurant in a small building (60-18) across the street for a short time, while a new brick building was being erected by Knut and Mandius Bolstad. The Palace of Sweets again moved back to the old location and was run there until about 1945. Marquardts left town for a few years, returning to Cooperstown in the later 1940's. They operated a restaurant in the Old Perchert building (59-18) and by the early 1950's Marquardt's restaurant was located in the Lende building (73-13) across the street east from the present Coachman Inn. They ran that for a short time and then retired.
Otto Perchert and family arrived in Cooperstown in January of 1892. Perchert, a brother-in-law of Marquardt, was a stonemason by trade. By April Perchert had moved into the building formerly occupied by Miss Emma Henry's Millinery Shop (59-18). Here he and his wife opened up their restaurant, running the business until 1895.
In 1905 O.E. Sommers and George Van Kleek opened the Hub Restaurant in the old Perchert building. Later that year Van Kleek became sole owner. The Van Kleek family ran the restaurant for two years. Other occupants of that building have been: Lewis Walters Tin Shop, H.H. Hanson Shoe Shop, Otto Marquardt's Restaurant, Frank Smith's Barber Shop and Bill Skjolden's Griggs County Mutual Office. A new building was erected in 1976 and is still occupied by Griggs County Mutual.
Other early restaurants and owners have included: Mrs. Lloyd's Restaurant, Ole Olson's Restaurant, the Germania House by Fred Schmidt (59-15), Frank Buck and Tom Carver, Model Restaurant by Alex Iverson and Theodore LaForest, Reier Anderson's Restaurant and Pool Hall 1893-1918 (74-10), Peder Johnson's Restaurant 1892-96 (74-7), T.O. Torgerson's Restaurant (74-7) later owned by P.K. Moe, J.H. Wilson, Chris Olson and P.J. Tang.
Source: Cooperstown, North Dakota 1882-1982 Centennial Page 199