In the early 1960s, the stress of being an advertising executive in New York was taking a toll on Paul Newman’s health.
Calling himself Paul Newman “The Original” — he’s not the Oscar-winning actor — he was on a fishing holiday in Wyoming when he told his wife Georgina (Gina) that instead of dying on the streets of New York, he was going to buy the old Carpenter Hotel in Atlantic City as their new home.
Gina wasn’t ready to give up her career and friends in the East, according to her former employee Lynn Kinter.
Twenty years younger than Paul, Gina loved her job as executive editor of Living for Young Homemakers, a popular ladies magazine based in New York City.
“As she described it, Gina sat in a bar in Lander for three days drinking double vodkas and asking herself, 'New York or Paul? New York or Paul?'" Kinter wrote years later for the Atlantic City Historical Society in its book “Atlantic City Wyoming, Voices from a Powerful Place.”
Ultimately, Gina chose her husband.
Then for more than 30 years, their restaurant Miner’s Delight put Atlantic City on the national map with its gourmet meals, colorful proprietors and guests who came from miles around just for dinner.
It was upscale French cuisine in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming with deep Old West roots.
“One patron said it was the only place where she was willing to wear heels through cow manure to get in,” Marjane Ambler, president of the Atlantic City Historical Society, told Cowboy State Daily.
Paul Newman “The Original” and his wife Georgina “Gina” moved to Atlantic City from their prestigious jobs in New York. They opened up the Miner’s Delight restaurant in Atlantic City, specializing in French cuisine and highly alcoholic drinks. They would serve 30 to 40 people each night they were open and reservations had to be made for this elegant restaurant in a former gold rush town. 
Gina Newman was 43 when she and her husband, Paul, left their lucrative careers in New York to open an elegant restaurant, the Miner’s Delight, in Atlantic City in 1967. The restaurant became a popular place to go and reservations were required ahead of time. Paul was a high-powered advertising executive in the 1930s to 1950s and even appeared on the cover of Scribner's, August 1937. 
Paul and Gina Newman were the colorful owners of the Miner’s Delight in Atlantic City. Their French cuisine and top shelf liquor attracted business from hundreds of miles away. Regulars came from Rocksprings, Lander and Riverton while special trips were made to the remote mining town by guests flying in as far away as Alaska.
The Carpenter Hotel Becomes Miner’s Delight
Paul and Gina had taken a fishing vacation to Wyoming in the spring of 1958, and that was when they met brother and sister Jim and Ellen Carpenter of Atlantic City.
Paul would go fishing on the Sweetwater River with Jim while a friendship developed between Gina and Ellen.
During the next several years the Newmans made regular trips to Atlantic City and were grieved when Ellen died in 1961.
When Ellen’s family put the 16-room Carpenter Hotel up for sale, Paul became determined it would be theirs. In 1963, the couple bought the hotel, intending to make it their private residence.
Ambler said that by 1965, they had renovated the hotel and made the pantry into a bar. Ellen had an aversion to alcohol so in deference to her, the Newmans named their new business Miner’s Delight, another name for the nearby ghost town of Hamilton City.
According to Bob Tipton in the Atlantic Historical Society's book, he met the Newmans as a teenage employee and was impressed by their culinary skills.
Gina wanted to expand her cooking talents and had talked Paul into taking a six-week cooking course that led to an additional four-week course in France.
Paul attended Paris’ most famous cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu, where he took a six-week sauce course.
To further their skills, in 1966 the couple left Atlantic City to work at the Silver King Restaurant in Park City, Utah. They learned to cook steak and lobster and opened the Miner’s Delight for dinner on June 10, 1967.
Paul and Gina served just two guests on their grand opening night.
“Their menu was not the normal fare for your typical Wyoming eating establishment as they served meals like crepes stuffed with crabmeat, French onion soup, coq au vin, and a parfait for dessert and coffee,” Tipton wrote.
The serving season for Miner’s Delight started the first weekend in May and was finished by early fall.
The Newmans served dinner four or five days a week, Wednesday or Thursday through Sunday, depending on their reservations and their own schedules.
Gina Newman,far right, went to France to learn to cook the cuisine she served at the Miner’s Delight, an elegant restaurant in the remote gold mining town of Atlantic City. 
At Miner’s Delight in the 1960s - 1990s, high society guests such as Paul Petzoldt (pictured) would dine on French cuisine prepared by former socialite, Gina Newman and her husband, Paul. 
Gina Newman, left, continued to run the Miner’s Delight after her husband, Paul Newman “the original” died. She took over bartending duties and kept up the high class of their restaurant in Atlantic City.
Elegance In Atlantic City
Paul and Gina hosted 20 to 40 guests each night they were open and regulars knew better than to request salt and pepper or, worse yet, ketchup.
Everything was perfectly seasoned and there was no reason to mess with this perfection, according to Gina.
In the 1970s, Karyn Aarthun Ervin was a repeat guest for four years who would drive up the winding road with her husband and friends to the remote mining town for a night of luxury.
She said Paul’s gin and tonics were unmatched and he only carried top-shelf liquor.
“Gina and Paul really introduced us to elegant dining,” Ervin said. “I tasted pate for the first time — delicious — and have been trying for about 50 years to duplicate their Cuban Black Bean Soup.”
Magnus “Max” Helmers of Sweden told Cowboy State Daily that eating at the Miner’s Delight was an experience of a lifetime.
“Sitting in that room in a restaurant in a ghost town in Wyoming and being served these great meals was just unreal,” Helmers said. “Gina had class and she know how to carry herself. You were only allowed to photograph her from one side, just like Clark Gable.”
Cowboy State Daily’s columnist Bill Sniffin was a young journalist when he would take his wife, Nancy, to Miner’s Delight for special occasions.
He said that a meal would cost an average of $50 or more for a couple, unheard of when a large steak could be purchased for $16.
“It was pricey, but it was worth it,” Sniffin said. “You'd make that 30-mile drive up the mountain up South Pass and it was a real tradition for everybody all over Wyoming and all over the region.”
Bob Tipton wrote that Gina was often quoted saying, “If it were left up to Wyoming men, they would only eat steak.”
The Newmans claimed their women customers drove their success as their menus were designed to please women. Once the men got a taste they became hooked.
There were a few exceptions. Atlantic City resident Craig Newman, no relation to the Newmans, recalled taking a date to the Miner’s Delight as a young man. He had made reservations and saved for their special night out.
Craig was shocked when instead of steak, he was served chicken and cold potato soup.
“She gave it a fancy name and said it was supposed to be cold,” Craig said. “She was quite fussy.”
Magnus Max Helmers of Sweden would dine at the Miner’s Delight in the 1990s, towards the end of its time serving high class food and liquor in the old mining town of Atlantic City. He said that eating at the Miner’s Delight was an experience of a lifetime. 
Magnus Max Helmers of Sweden would dine at the Miner’s Delight in the 1990s, towards the end of its time serving high class food and liquor in the old mining town of Atlantic City. He said that eating at the Miner’s Delight was an experience of a lifetime. 
Magnus Max Helmers of Sweden would dine at the Miner’s Delight in the 1990s, towards the end of its time serving high class food and liquor in the old mining town of Atlantic City. He said that eating at the Miner’s Delight was an experience of a lifetime.
The Go-To Place
Bob Tipton's brother, Harry Tipton Jr., wrote in the Atlantic City book that he was given a front-row seat to the clientele the Newmans served after being hired for a job in 1975.
Before the summer ended, Harry had served drinks to Gov. Ed Herschler, U.S. Sen. Cliff Hansen, Congressman Teno Roncalio, State Sen. Robert Peck, State Rep. Harry Tipton (his father) and soon-to-be U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson.
“They all liked to have big fun,” Harry wrote. “I learned much while bartending at the Miner’s Delight, much of which I am sure my mother would have preferred I did not.”
Harry said that he was shocked when Paul told him that they had repeat customers who would fly down from as far away as Alaska just to eat at the Miner’s Delight.
Most of these customers would then fly home after dinner.
Part of the allure was that Paul was well-known in his social circles and knew how to entertain.
“Paul was always dressed up and would make a big show of making drinks,” Sniffin said. “Paul and Gina were both very elegant and made you feel like a million bucks.”
Everyone was given the red-carpet treatment at Miner’s Delight regardless of their social status.
Sally Webster, a nurse, and Dave Slovisky who was working for NOLS were married on October 9, 1976. They reserved the Miner’s Delight for their dinner and were treated to a night to remember.
“I didn't know the Newmans’ but Paul was quite effusive,” Webster said. “He greeted us like we were old family members, and he was dressed up with an ascot.”
Goodbyes
When Paul died in 1986, Gina upheld a pact they had made to be cremated and not embalmed.
Since the local funeral home would not transport a body to the crematorium in Cheyenne without embalming it, Gina put Paul in the trunk of their car and drove to Cheyenne, sobbing and cursing during the 285-mile drive.
She was stopped for speeding on the way home but only given a warning when she told the officer her husband was in the urn beside her.
Paul’s obituary later appeared in The New York Times with a long list of his accomplishments.
Gina ran Miner’s Delight for a number of years after Paul’s death with the help of her employees.
Krista Guthridge wrote that Gina would always encourage her not to just talk about what she was going to do, but to do it.
In 1997, Gina fell, broke her hip and covered herself in the barroom’s plush rugs until friends found her three days later, her pooch snuggled at her side.
After this, Gina moved to the Showboat Assisted Living facility in Lander and died the following year at the age of 78.
The Miner’s Delight has since been closed, but the legacy of Paul and Gina Newman live on in Atlantic City and in the hearts of all who experienced their gourmet food in remote Wyoming.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
