Magnolia House

Set squarely on the route between Atlanta and Richmond, the Historic Magnolia House in Greensboro, North Carolina, was once one of the few places where Black American travelers could safely secure food, comfort, and entertainment while navigating the South during the Jim Crow era. In that postbellum, 100-year period of prejudicial segregation, safety and survival were paramount to the Black community.

Located just 95 miles northeast of Charlotte, the captivating 19th-century Queen Anne-style bed-and-breakfast sits majestically in the same neighborhood as Bennett College, a historically Black institute of higher learning. The inn is charming, standing out from other homes on the block with its yesteryear beauty and splendor. With a towering magnolia tree in its front yard (a replica of the original signage), an event space filling most of the backyard, and stunning Italianate ornamentation trimmed in a creamy Watergate cake shade of green, it’s clear this home is far from ordinary. This house has a story to tell.

For a Black traveler in the mid-20th century, The Negro Motorist Green Book became the holy grail for safe commuting. The book, in which the Historic Magnolia House—then known as Magnolia House Motel—was listed, provided information to guide travelers to Black-owned and nondiscriminatory businesses in hopes of mitigating the risk of danger. Magnolia House Motel was listed as a Green Book hotel from 1955 to 1957 and earned the publication’s prestigious gold star recommendation from 1959 to 1961, a designation that catapulted the inn to astonishing popularity among Black celebrities. Ray Charles, James Brown, Louis Armstrong, Gladys Knight, and Ike and Tina Turner are just a few of a long list of names to sleep under the roof of this alluring Carolina retreat.  

Eventually, the home fell into obscurity until it was purchased in 1995 by Samuel Penn Pass, a “kid of the neighborhood,” as his daughter, Natalie Pass-Miller, lovingly refers to him. “My father was interested in buying this house because he remembered what it used to be,” says Pass-Miller; she currently owns the inn with her husband, Devin. “He used to ride his bike past the house, see the fancy cars, and wonder which star was here. It was important to him to buy this house so that we could have something for us—the community.”

Pass-Miller and her husband acquired the house from her father in 2018 and spent 10 months restoring it, functionally and structurally, to its golden-era glory. The four-bedroom inn with bright, colorful walls and impeccably themed rooms—done in homage to famous friends of the hotel, such as Jackie Robinson and Miles Davis—is a reminder of the legacy, heritage, and perseverance of Black Americans.

Today, the maternally warm bed-and-breakfast, which may feel like a visit to your Southern grandmother’s house, boasts an on-site restaurant that offers complimentary breakfast with a weekend stay. It also features a living museum that takes visitors on a journey into the not-so-distant past, highlighting the significance of this historic inn and its continued commitment to educating, entertaining, and feeding the minds, bellies, and souls of the community.

And who better to feed the community than the inn’s chef, Yancey Williams, a New York transplant and a graduate of New York’s Institute of Culinary Education. While he loves to cook soulful Southern classics, Williams also appreciates stretching his culinary legs beyond the American South. “Caribbean food is some of my favorite food,” he says. “So, I added the escovitch whole red snapper and oxtail dishes to the menu. Eventually, I’d love to do seated dinners with multiple courses to draw in people who want to have true culinary experiences,” he adds.

For now, in addition to managing the restaurant, Williams continues to educate the community through the inn’s Shoebox Lunch N Learn program, which provides and teaches about shoebox meals, another practice that kept Black travelers safe during Jim Crow: To avoid the threat of conflict, travelers would pack and eat quick and easy meals out of homemade shoeboxes. He also plans to partner with local colleges and community organizations for a more farm-to-table experience and investment in the neighborhood.

As the old adage goes, when it comes to the Historic Magnolia House, one thing is for certain and two things are for sure: The familiar and comforting smell of fresh-baked cornbread and collard greens will linger in the air, and the beat will, most definitely, go on.

What’s on the Menu

Though some menu items at The Historic Magnolia House may rotate seasonally, these three dishes are the perfect cap to a visit:

Robinson’s Seafood Platter
A little of this or a little of that for the seafood lover: This dish has heaping portions of well-seasoned calamari, shrimp, codfish, fries, and coleslaw.

Magnolia Breakfast
Chef Yancey’s platter of steamy grits, eggs (any style), and a choice of turkey or pork bacon, or corned beef hash (go with the hash) is pure soul food.

Magnolia Double or Nothing Wings
Whether you go with the lemon pepper, Nashville hot, or sweet chili flavor, these approachable wings make the perfect late-night snack—so save a few for later.