Boston's landmark "No Name" restaurant closes after 102 years
Boston's "No Name" restaurant, which opened along Fish Pier more than a century ago as a place for local fishermen to grab hot meals after long days at sea, has served its final clam chowder. The storied eatery declared bankruptcy this week after succumbing to a wave of rapid development and changing consumer tastes.
"To our many loyal customers, employees and our longtime community, after over 100 years, we had to make the difficult decision to close the No Name Restaurant," the restaurant posted on its Facebook page. "We want to thank our generations of customers for all the years of loyal patronage, and for helping make the No Name a landmark location."
No Name Restaurant In South Boston Closes After More Than 100 Years In Business (via @AnnaMeiler ) https://t.co/U6pUQYVTxh pic.twitter.com/aYJBNOGQto
— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) December 31, 2019
The restaurant is filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, in which assets are liquidated to pay off debts. No Name still owes money to seafood vendors, for electric bills and other debts, according to a federal court filing.
Members of the Cantos family, owners of the restaurant since it opened in 1917, didn't respond to requests for comment from The Boston Globe, which first reported the story. The restaurant, known for affordable New England-style seafood, was founded by Nick Cantos, who never named the place. It eventually became known as the No Name, the Globe reported.
Remember going to #NoName with Daddy before the Seaport was a place anyone wanted to go. #memories
— Lisa Leach (@MuzakLisa) December 31, 2019
The closure is just one of several more than century-old Boston restaurants that shuttered this year, including the 137-year old Doyle's Care in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood and Durgin Park in the Faneuil Hall shopping district, which closed its doors after 142 years, the Globe noted.
Buildings continue to sprout along the city's waterfront, a tide of gentrification following the so-called Big Dig, which more than a decade ago removed an elevated highway that had cut the area off from downtown.
Now rebranded as the Seaport District, the neighborhood has seen a number of landmarks close, including Jimmy's Harborside in 2007 and Anthony's Pier 4 in 2013, according to CBS affiliate WBZ, which outlined the area's transformation last month.