Closings and Tear Downs of Beloved New England Businesses

Brown's Ice Cream Stand in York Beach, Maine,
 is on the real estate market for 1.7 million (photo by Eric)
It breaks my heart to see beloved local New England businesses like the Hilltop Steak House, Christo's, Aunt Aleda's Bakery and Country Kitchen, Brown's Ice Cream and Benjamin's restaurant go out of business.

The other day when driving through Saugus, Mass., I saw contractors starting the process of tearing down the Hilltop Steak House to make way for a new shopping plaza. How creative. Hard to believe that America's largest steak house with the two hour waits and the charming plastic cows out front is gone forever. I hear the giant cactus sign will remain, but that's kind of like having a car without the engine.

Christo's, with its Greek salads, famous salad dressing, baked lamb, bar-style pizzas, and the large four color coded rooms (who can forget the Gold Room with that huge golden floor-to-ceiling fountain?), attained legendary status in the Brockton area since its inception in 1964. Owner Christos Tsaganis ran that restaurant with such dedication,  passion and personality but after his death in early 2013, family decided to follow up on Tsaganis's prior agreement to sell the building to Massasoit Community College. After a building tear down last year, an allied health and science building is in the works. The Christo's legend remains in a smaller form, however, as the take-out Christo's to Go in Whitman still serves up some of the past Christo's favorites.

Aunt Aleda's in Mansfield was a relative newcomer to the suburban Boston dining scene but quickly gained old-school nirvana status with its huge, quality breakfasts and a tremendous old fashioned bakery on the premises. Wicked Local Norton reported in January 2015 that the restaurant closed due to non payment of taxes. What a great loss, as it seems like so many local breakfast spots inexplicably deliver the improbable: screwing up breakfast with either overcooked eggs, soggy bacon, burnt toast, muffins no better than the supermarket kind, tepid tasting coffee, crummy service, or all of the above. And there was a real artistry to what was coming out of the bakery -- so different than the paint-by-numbers, generic baked good templates used to create mediocre treats by some other local bakeries. Aunt Aleda's always came through -- what a shame they couldn't last. The storefront is now the Looking Glass Cafe -- more on that soon!

Who would have ever thought that Brown's Old-Fashioned Ice Cream in York Beach, Maine, would ever close? Steve Dunne, who leased Brown's from the Brown family for the past 23 years, decided to open up Dunne's Ice Cream ice cream stand virtually right across the street from the entrance to Sohier Park and Nubble Lighthouse. Apparently no one in the Brown family wanted to continue the business, so the ice cream stand and property is up for sale at the price of  $1.7 million, according to Seacoastonline. While it's nice that Dunne's Ice Cream will continue the ice cream tradition near the "Nubble," there's kind of a bittersweet feeling knowing that a business synonymous with a York Beach summer vacation could very well be gone forever. We do wish Mr. Dunne well in his new business, which opened in June, but also hope that whoever purchases the Brown's property will continue the ice cream stand business there. One can never have enough ice cream and tradition.

Two weeks ago, I drove past Benjamin's restaurant in Taunton, Mass., and thought how nice it would be to get back there.  Well, that might not ever happen as the large, landmark restaurant that seemed to please all generations recently filed for bankruptcy and then suddenly closed, according to the Taunton Gazette.  Benjamin's was that proverbial lively "place to go in town" with its time-tested offerings of chicken, steak and seafood, some great entertainment (will always remember a certain band doing a fantastic cover of The Trammps "Disco Inferno!") spacious yet cozy carpeted dining spaces, and a nice dance floor. I will miss the prime rib and many will long for the baked stuffed lobster. Unfortunately, this sad demise of a great family business can now only result in holding onto dear memories. We hold out hope, however, that the next owner of the property keeps the revered Benjamin's restaurant tradition alive.

Related articles:
Gone but not forgotten New England restaurants
More memories of closed New England restaurants
Boston area business memories at Old School Boston

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Good Eeeevening!: A Perspective on New Hampshire Meteorologist Al Kaprielian

Article by Eric H., at VisitingNewEngland.com Somewhere in the 1980s, my esteemed Arlington High School journalism teacher Len Tammaro tipped me off about a New Hampshire television weatherman that he called "Crazy Al Kaprielian." That night, I couldn't believe what I saw: this nerdy-looking guy with a high-pitched voice flailing his arms all over the weather map, contorting his face in every direction, and squealing, "Good Eeeevening!" and "HIGH PRESSURE!" (his future trademark phrases)." All that boundless energy and the myriad antics left the viewer laughing, yet enervated at the same time. In this world of slick, Ken and Barbie television meteorologists, Al Kaprielian has been the antidote to the standard, unctuous television personality. Twenty-five years later, Al is still going strong on MyTV New England with his unique style --perhaps validation that he really loves his job. No doubt, Al has always been an unconventional, unique-looking a
Read more

Remembering the Smiling Blue Whale Neon Sign at Yoken's Restaurant

Image
Article by Eric H. Sometimes, we affectionately remember restaurants that weren't all that great. Not that Yoken's "Thar She Blows" restaurant in Danvers, MA, was bad, but if it were in business today, we'd regard it as a New England tourist trap with too much fried food and dining rooms that looked like any other restaurant dining room. It was basically Howard Johnson's with a sea captain's hat. Yoken's was hugely popular at its Danvers and Portsmouth, NH, locations for its affordable and decent seafood dishes, friendly service and family-friendly environment. Perhaps it was most popular, however, for its attention-getting smiling blue whale neon sign. Yokens' perfectly tapped into a pathetic, universally acknowledged human weakness: who doesn't love a smiling, blue whale? Perhaps Yoken's greatest appeal was its innocence. You just don't see signs like the smiling blue whale in our society anymore. Today, we see signs with fancy fon
Read more

Visiting My Grandmother Had That Antiques in Wrentham, Mass.

Image
My Grandmother Had That...Antiques  in Wrentham, Mass., is one of those "hidden gem" antique stores that is jam-packed with antiques, collectibles and other items from the past. Located in a charming, two-story old red barn at 446 South St. (Route 1A), My Grandmother Had That...Antiques certainly lives up to its name. You'll find furniture, lamps, desks, chairs, plant holders, fine China sets and just about everything your grandma had, and also didn't have -- like a web address, Facebook fan page or any hint on the Internet that this place exists! Unless you're a Wrentham native, one familiar with the antiques industry, have driven by the red barn on South St., or somebody that just reads maps of Wrentham all day, My Grandmother Had That...Antiques is as hard to find as the rarest antique. You won't even find the name, "My Grandmother Had That," on the building, just a sign that states "Antiques." The My Grandmother Had That name is on
Read more