Durgin-Park

Coordinates: 42°21′38″N 71°03′18″W / 42.3605°N 71.0551°W / 42.3605; -71.0551

Faneuil Hall entrance (2009)
Restaurant information
Slogan • Established before you were born
• Your Grandfather and perhaps Your Great Grandfather dined with us, too!
Established 1742, 1827
Current owner(s) • Ark Restaurants (2007—)
• Kelley family (1972–2007)
• James Hallett (1945–1977)
• Chandler family (1840–1945)
• Durgin & Park (1827–c.1870)
Food type Seafood & Roast Prime Rib
Dress code Casual
Rating ★★★ (Frommer's)
Street address 340 Faneuil Hall Marketplace
City Boston
State Massachusetts
Postal code/ZIP 02109
Country  United States
Coordinates 42°21′38″N 71°03′18″W / 42.3605°N 71.0551°W / 42.3605; -71.0551
Seating capacity 250 at mostly communal tables
Reservations Suggested for parties of 15 or more that want to sit together.
Website Durgin-Park.com
Clinton Street entrance (2008)

Durgin-Park is a centuries-old restaurant at 340 Faneuil Hall Marketplace in downtown Boston. The Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau states that it has been a "landmark since 1827",[1] and it continues to be a popular tourist destination within Quincy Market. The restaurant has entrances on both of its facades (Faneuil Hall and Clinton Street).

In keeping with its long history, the concept of Durgin-Park maintains the tradition of communal seating at long tables. The menu is designed to offer traditional New England-style fare with a concentration on seafoods, chowders, broiled meats and boiled dinners.[2] The service is also a partial hold-over from the time of its founding as the waitstaff have been encouraged to adopt a "surly" attitude and "backtalk" the clientele.[3] Another sign of its heritage is that it has only changed head chefs a handful of times in its history.[4]

History

The first restaurant at this former warehouse was opened in 1742,[5][6] and was purchased in 1827 by John Durgin and Eldridge Park,[4] becoming a Boston landmark.

By 1840, Durgin & Park took on John G. Chandler as a third partner.[7] It was this trio that established the concepts of food and service that have remained essentially unchanged.

During the Reconstruction era—after the deaths of Durgin and Park—Chandler continued to run the operation and his family owned it until 1945,[7] when it was sold to James Hallett, who ran the operation until 1977, enhancing the restaurant's national reputation.[5]

The restaurant was purchased by the Kelley family in 1972,[8] and sold by them to Ark Restaurants in January 2007,[9] although Seana Kelley remained the General Manager till 2012. The General Manager is now Patricia Reyes, who has worked for Ark Restaurants for over 15 years.

In late summer of 2010, Durgin-Park opened up a beer garden in their basement bar. Called The Hideout, they have carved out a beer list that is atypical to the Faneuil Hall area. On Wednesday nights there is a comedy show called "Woodstock Wednesdays" starring the local Boston comedy troupe "Just Suspects".

In January 2013 it was announced that Ark Restaurants has leased a sublocation at Logan Airport at which Durgin Park will be offering soups and sandwiches.

Honors and Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Durgin Park Restaurant". Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau. Archived from the original on August 30, 2006. External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. ↑ "Durgin-Park Menu". Durgin-Park.com. 2008.
  3. ↑ "Durgin-Park ★★★: Frommer's Review". Frommer's. 2000–2009.
  4. 1 2 Theroux, Alexander (December 8, 1985). "Dining Out in Old Boston". Travel. New York Times.
  5. 1 2 "James Hallett, 86; restaurateur made Durgin-Park local landmark". The Boston Globe. August 3, 1993.
  6. ↑ Kousoulas, Claudia. "Indian Pudding". Washington Woman.
  7. 1 2 Hammel, Lisa (February 5, 1984). "Fare of the Country; In Search of Real Boston Baked Beans". Travel. New York Times.
  8. ↑ Luongo, C. Paul (June 10, 2008). "America's Oldest Restaurant". From C. Paul Luongo, the Mayor of Copley Square.
  9. ↑ Yahoo! Finance (May 13, 2008). "Quarterly Report". Form 10-Q for Ark Restaurants Corp.
  10. ↑ Why classics count in New England Their indefinable, inimitable somethings just get more savory with the decades

See also

External links

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