The 1976 holiday shopping season offered Saginaw shoppers new department store dining destinations – two restaurants in the transformed downtown Jacobson’s Superstore and the Greenery in Hudson’s Fashion Square Mall.
This link will take you to the story of Jacobson’s Le Buffet.
There had long been rumors that Hudson’s, the iconic Detroit department store, would construct a Saginaw branch. Actually, Hudson’s already had a brief history in Saginaw – in 1885 the firm had operated a liquidation sale of an East Saginaw clothier. In July 1976, speculation became a reality: the doors of the Saginaw Hudson’s opened.
“The fashion-oriented department store, 13th in the Hudson chain, occupies
122,000 square feet over two floors. It is the third major anchor for the highly successful mall and has two outside entrances and one from within. Unusual sea shells, natural woods and textiles, primitive artifacts and macrame hangings highlight the decor.
Children will be delighted with giant-size tinker toys and carousel horses.
For the tired shopper, there is The Greenery Restaurant with seating for 80 and a garden court atmosphere an oasis. [sic]
And for more than 300 throughout the tri-city area, the Hudson opening means a new work experience.” (The Saginaw News , July 25, 1976.)
The Greenery was on the second floor, its entrance carefully placed at the end of the aisle dividing crystal from the kitchen necessities. It seemed like an extension of the sales floor - a thoughtful transition between salad spinners and Waterford crystal.
When plans for the store were revealed in 1974, the company indicated the restaurant would have the “décor of an old-fashioned country kitchen.” However, the eatery that was constructed had a decidedly garden-like vibe. While windowless, the space was artificially lit by a faux skylight. Based on memories made during luncheons enjoyed long ago, natural wood paneling was softened by an abundance of plants in macramé hangers. It seems that there were touches of a very stylish – for the 70s – burnt orange.
The star dish on The Greenery’s menu was Hudson’s famed Maurice Salad. The iconic, original Hudson’s store on Woodward Avenue had long had a restaurant that featured the Maurice Salad. While not invented by the store’s staff—and Hudson’s advertising provides conflicting dates for the first Maurice salad served at Hudson’s—certainly by the mid1930s, the Maurice Salad was Hudson’s signature dish:
“Some say the best Maurice salad in the city, some say the best between . . .say Detroit and Pago-Pago is dished up daily (1.75) at the Picadilly Circus on the mezzanine floor of Hudson’s downtown, which (and this may interest those of you who majored in cafeteria history in college) has been in existence under one name or another since 1929!” (The Detroit Free Press, June 24, 1973.)
The Maurice Salad quickly became a Saginaw favorite. In the 1980s, nothing felt more festive than crowding into a booth with friends and family – cramming in a mound of packages topped by one of Hudson’s iconic Santa Bears and ordering a Maurice Salad and glass of wine.
“Diners who like a changing menu-with an occasional surprise – will enjoy The Greenery Restaurant – located on the second floor of Hudson’s at Fashion Square mall.
‘We make new additions to our menu about every six weeks,’ says Nancy Washowicz, restaurant manager. ‘People can come in and always find something new.'
The new offerings are added to Greenery mainstays such as chicken pie and Maurice salad." (The Saginaw News, April 11, 1983.)
While the mall Hudson’s flourished, the landmark store on Woodward Avenue, closed in 1983 – along with its fabled tearoom. In the final days:
“In the place where umbrellas once were sold stood bins of sterling silver sugar bowls, plates and coffee pots, all stamped J.L. Hudson, many heavily tarnished[.] Nearby were the giant white clamshells* used to serve the store restaurant’s famous Maurice salad." (The Saginaw News April 1, 1983.)
The Greenery in Saginaw’s store continued to be a respite from the exhausting labor of shopping. The restaurant survived the transformation of Hudson’s to Marshall Field and then to Macy’s. The space changed architecturally ever slightly, and the décor became lighter as it was transformed into Macy’s Lakeshore Grill. The long-enjoyed restaurant closed in 2016.
Today, an aisle still separates pots and pans from crystal; however, it terminates where the Greenery’s entrance once beaconed. The shopper is now confronted by a wall – a dead end. (Although, we have long imagined that behind that wall the ceiling still reaches towards an imaginary skylight and tables and booths still fill the space – waiting for customers ready to order a Maurice Salad; however, our sources inform us that former restaurant has been remodeled and transformed into a practical breakroom.)
The Recipe - Hudson’s Maurice Salad
There are numerous recipes claiming to be the true Hudson’s Maurice salad. After thoughtful agonizing, we chose one from the Macy’s restaurant website. This is a link to the original recipe.
Below is the CTK adaptation:
It should comfortably serve at least 6 people
For the salad:
1 head Iceberg lettuce, shredded
14 ounces Cooked ham, julienne cut**
14 ounces Cooked turkey, julienne cut
14 ounces Swiss cheese, julienne cut
½ cup Sweet gherkin pickles, julienne cut
12 – 16 Green olives, pimento stuffed
Maurice Dressing:
1 ½ tsp Lemon juice
2 tsp White vinegar
To taste Kosher salt
1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard
¼ tsp Dry mustard
1½ tsp Granulated sugar
1½ tsp Finely grated yellow onion
1 tsp Fresh parsley, chopped
1 Hardboiled egg, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup Mayonnaise
To Prepare Dressing:
Whisk together lemon, juice vinegar, sugar, and salt. Whisk until sugar and salt are completely combined. Add Dijon and dry mustard and whisk until combined. Add remaining ingredients and stir until completely blended.
To create salad:
Lightly dress lettuce with Maurice dressing and place a bed of lettuce on each serving place. Arrange remaining salad components on top of salad. Drizzle a little dressing on salad and garnish with two olives – not one or three. Use precisely two olives.
Serve additional dressing on the side.
CTK Notes:
We found this recipe to be straightforward and quite good. We agonized about how to present the salad. In the end, we simply dressed the lettuce. However, some recipes and descriptions suggest that all components – with the exception of the olives should be tossed together.
Make certain you do not skimp on the quality of ham and turkey.
Also, resist the temptation and do include the pickles. They are the magic ingredient that makes a Maurice Salad special.
*The giant white clamshells are an enigma. We have yet to find any other reference documenting their use or suggesting why a Maurice Salad would be served in a giant white clamshell. And we have never heard of them being employed at The Greenery. That said, we felt we needed to build on this clue. However, the CTK lacks giant white clamshells. In the end, we used this reference as inspiration for selecting a piece of majolica with a nautical theme. In retrospect, a plain white plate may have been more photogenic and less disruptive to the décor of the test kitchen.
**Just in case you want a refresher in the julienne cut. As you may have noticed from our prep photographs, the CTK staff did not complete their research prior to preparing the photo-op salad:
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