Crabmeat Salad

Alta S. Braxton was in her mid-50s and twice widowed when she opened Charles Manor at 208 South Front Street in New Bern, North Carolina, in 1954. She had purchased the property as her home in 1941, a year after the death of her first husband, William H. Simons, at age 51. Simons had spent most of his career at S. Coplon & Sons, which billed itself as “North Carolina’s Biggest and Best Department Store,” where he’d started out as a “bundle wrapper” in 1910 and by 1922 had worked his way up to become its general manager. Alta remarried in 1950, but her second husband, Jesse Fountain Braxton, a widower, died just three months later at age 67.

Braxton beckoned diners with a streetside neon sign for Charles Manor that not only promised “Fine Foods” but noted that her 70-seat restaurant was air-conditioned—a big attraction in a city of warm and humid summers with average high temperatures that often hit the low 90s. This was also a grand old home with a grand view—namely, the picturesque waterfront of downtown New Bern near the confluence of the Trent and Neuse Rivers.

In 1959 the address of Charles Manor changed when, following the restoration of Tryon Palace, the original capitol of North Carolina, South Front Street was renamed Tryon Palace Drive, but the new name never quite stuck.

By 1961, with her establishment having become one of the most popular restaurants in New Bern, Braxton apparently was ready to retire. In August of that year a classified ad in the Raleigh News and Observer quietly announced that “The Charles Manor—Famous for Fine Foods” was for sale, citing the “owner’s health” as the reason. But Braxton had no takers, and in 1965 she placed another classified ad in the Raleigh newspaper that read: “Charles Manor Restaurant. In an old home. Seats about 70 people. Living quarters also. Will give lease or sell. Interested only in qualified persons. Closed due to ill health. Call Mrs. Alta Braxton, New Bern, N.C.”

It would take Braxton another three years to sell her restaurant. The buyer was the Trent Academy of Basic Education, which would operate from the house until a fire destroyed it in 1970.

Alta Braxton died in New Bern in 1975 shortly before her 76th birthday.

Print Recipe

Crabmeat Salad

(No Ratings Yet)

Loading...

2

Ingredients

• 1 cup (6 ounces) fresh crabmeat, flaked, any shell fragments removed
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced celery
• 1 teaspoon capers, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon Alamo Zestful Seasoning (see notes)
• 1/4 teaspoon onion salt
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• Crisp lettuce leaves, for serving
• Green bell pepper, olives, and pickles, for garnish

Instructions

1

In a medium bowl, gently toss the crabmeat, celery, and capers.

2

Sprinkle with Alamo seasoning and onion salt.

3

Add the mayonnaise and fold carefully to coat without breaking up the crab.

4

Serve chilled on crisp lettuce leaves.

5

Garnish with thin rings of green pepper, olives, and pickles.

Notes

The original version of this recipe called for "salad dressing"—typically an emulsified product like Miracle Whip—rather than mayonnaise. Alamo Zestful Seasoning was a proprietary spice blend produced by John Sexton & Company, a Chicago-based supplier to the restaurant, hotel, and institutional markets. The seasoning mix was discontinued after Sexton merged with Beatrice Foods in 1968 (today the company operates as US Foods Holdings Corporation). The closest equivalent of Alamo Zestful Seasoning is thought to be Fiesta Bar-B-Que Crab Seasoning, which is produced by Bohner's Fiesta Foods, Inc., of San Antonio, Texas.