Refrigerator Rolls

On August 11, 1949, Mr. and Mrs. Carl E. Johnson opened a novel “fast food” operation at 2321 Wallace Avenue in Lafayette, Indiana. This was the perfect location. It was directly across from the 3,152-seat Columbian Park Stadium, which since its construction in 1940 had been home to the city’s semipro baseball team, the Red Sox, and right next door to the Original Frozen Custard, which had been in business there since 1932.

Their idea was to offer all kinds of prepared foods that customers could either take home, eat on the premises in a little coffee shop, or have served to their guests at a catered party or other such event. They named their new business Johnson’s Jiffy Food Shop and came up with a menu that included delicatessen-style salads (potato, bean, or ham), chop suey (chicken or veal), and fried chicken cooked to order, as well as a variety of breads, home-made pies, and snack items. They also came up with a slogan: “Your Taste Will Tell You Why.”

The Johnsons, as it happened, were newlyweds, as they’d just gotten married in 1949. The plan was for Carl to keep his job with the Monon Railroad (also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway), which operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. He’d been a clerk for the railroad since the mid-1920s, and the position had seen him through the Great Depression and World War II. Marguerite Johnson (née Westfall), his new bride, would be the moving force behind the business.

In 1950 Johnson’s Jiffy Food Shop began advertising that it would deliver, at no extra charge, its “piping hot steak or chicken dinners” to any customer who ordered at least three of them. A couple of years later Marguerite added shrimp baskets and shrimp dinners to the menu , as well as “Spaghetti, Italian Style.” By then the coffee shop had been upgraded to a “dining room,” and the “food shop” to a “delicatessen.”

Marguerite continued to build up the catering side of the business, advertising it as “Lafayette’s Only Complete Catering Service,” and in 1956 she developed a line of fresh “Johnson’s Jiffy Salads” for sale in local grocery stores.

In 1957 the Johnsons decided to sell their business to Robert J. Lannon, who’d previously owned and operated Stauffer’s Drive-In—which he eventually renamed R-J Drive-In—at 249 Main Street Levee (today 249 East State Street) in West Lafayette. Three years later Lannon built the Midtown Plaza shopping center on the site and relocated Johnson’s Jiffy Foods, as it now was known, there. (Lones Music Studio took over the space on Wallace Avenue.)

In 1961 Lannon sold Johnson’s Jiffy Foods in anticipation of being appointed by the Lafayette Board of Health to the $3,600-a-year position of city sanitary officer (he assumed the post in January 1962). The new owners of the business, Everett and Frances Goris, converted it into a catering-only operation and three years later sold it to Gerald A. (Jerry) Lemm, who merged it into his own catering firm, Jerry’s and Addie’s Catering.

Carl Johnson retired from his job with the Monon Railroad in 1966. He died in 1977 at age 76. Marguerite, who remarried some years later, died in 2017 in Bloomington, Indiana, at age 100.

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Refrigerator Rolls

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Johnson's Jiffy Food Shop, which operated in Lafayette and West Lafayette, Indiana, from 1949 to 1961, was the brainchild of Carl and Marguerite Johnson, Their novel "fast food" operation offered all kinds of prepared items that customers could either take home, eat on the premises in a little coffee shop, or have served to their guests at a catered party or other such event. These fluffy, baked-as-needed Refrigerator Rolls were a mainstay on the Johnsons' menus.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups lukewarm water, divided
• 1 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, divided
• 2 envelopes (2 1/4 teaspoons each) instant yeast
• 3 tablespoons melted shortening
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 8 cups sifted all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• Nonstick spray or vegetable oil for greasing bowl and baking sheet
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Nonstick spray or vegetable oil for greasing baking sheet

Instructions

1

Combine 1/4 cup lukewarm water, 1 teaspoon sugar, and the yeast.

2

In a large bowl, combine the remaining 2 cups of water, the remaining cup of sugar, melted shortening, and salt. Stir in 4 cups flour and the beaten eggs and mix thoroughly. Stir in the remaining 4 cups flour; mix well but do not knead.

3

Coat a large bowl with melted shortening (or vegetable oil). Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover and refrigerator overnight or until needed (up to 3 days).

4

When ready to bake, heat the oven to 400 degrees.

5

Lightly grease a 16” x 12” baking sheet with nonstick sprat or vegetable oil. Shape the dough into 48 2-inch rolls, blending in additional flour if it is sticky. Lightly brush each roll with melted butter and place on the baking sheet.

6

Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Bake in the 400-degree oven 20 to 25 minutes, until deeply golden on top,

Notes

Marguerite Johnson's original recipe called for 2 yeast cakes. Because fresh cake yeast is available today only in limited markets, and even then often on a seasonal basis, this recipe has been adapted to allow for the use of instant dry yeast, which needs extra time to fully activate.