Emma Louise Webb and the Rev. James W. Webb ran a restaurant and boarding house on Willow Avenue from at least the 1920s into the 1950s.
In a 1939 City Directory, it was listed at 101 N. Willow Avenue.
During America’s Jim Crow era, it was one of very few places in Fayetteville where African American travelers could eat in a restaurant or get a room for the night.
White-run hotels and eateries across the South didn’t allow Black patrons during the period. Legends like Louis Armstrong couldn’t get a room at a hotel or grab lunch at a cafe when they visited Fayetteville to perform.
Emma and James Webb offered those options at their place. Think of it as an early version of a “bed and breakfast.”
The Webbs’ restaurant and boarding were listed in the Greenbook, a guide for African American travelers.