Some women opened lunchrooms or tea houses to cater to the large numbers of working women in downtown.
Lula Bowman opened a tea room in 1914, serving mostly women customers. Her Cumberland Tea Room was so popular that it sometimes attracted 100-200 patrons a day.
From then until the late 1950s, Bowman was a successful cook and restaurant operator at various locations, including Exchange Street, where she operated Bowman's Cafe starting in the late 1940s.