Having continuous food service at one location for over 100 years is rare. This story starts with the Eugene Langlois Restaurant, which began in 1924 on a less than 1/3-acre parcel at North Canal and North Bridge St.
During 1870, the Holyoke Water Power Company sold this parcel of land to Valley Paper Company. During 1924 and 1925, Holyoke City Directories showed Eugene Langlois operated a restaurant at this location, followed by Emile Pellisier Lunch Wagon and Alfred L. Cote Restaurant into 1932.
A turning point at this location occurred in 1932. Albert Mongeau, a caterer from Attleboro, MA, opened his new restaurant, the Miss Holyoke Diner, on March 14, 1932. The diner was manufactured by the famous Worcester Lunch Car Co., which operated in Worcester, MA from 1906 to 1957. Mr. Mongeau continued to lease the building and property from Valley Paper Co. for about 13 years.
Expansion occurred in late 1937 with two new lunch cars installed along the No. Bridge side of the property. The new addition included a private dining room.
On November 1, 1945, Mr. Mongeau purchased the real estate from Valley Paper Company for $5,000. In the spring of 1946, plans were announced to renovate the restaurant.
On March 23, 1946, Roland Mongeau, a co-owner, was issued a permit to build a one-story brick restaurant at 2 No. Bridge Street. The restaurant was completed in November 1946 and renamed Mongeau's Restaurant. The restaurant was on the first floor, and a banquet room was in the basement. The Rainbow Room could accommodate 200 guests and was available for functions, including weddings, banquets, and parties. Subsequent modifications were made to the building, which stands today with several changes.
The Rainbow Room proved very successful. From 1947 to 1962, many newspaper accounts of wedding receptions, bridal showers, campaign rallies, union meetings, company holiday parties, etc were published.
On April 12, 1962, Albert Mongeau sold the business and real estate. The restaurant was shown to have seating for about 250 people in the upstairs restaurant, and the same number in the Rainbow Room below.
Several owners and name changes occurred since, the topic in the next blog post.
1974-1984 Hadleigh House Restaurant
1985-2025 Amedeo's Restaurant & Lounge
Sources of news articles and information:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; publication dates are shown.
Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories.
2 No. Bridge St. 1925-1932 HPL -Holyoke City Directories
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