Anthony Athanas
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Anthony Athanas (born 1911-2005 in Korcha, Albania), was an Albanian immigrant who moved to New York when he was 5 and who turned a stretch of abandoned landfill on Boston's waterfront into one of the most successful restaurants in the country.
In its heyday in the 1960s and 1970s, Anthony's Pier 4 was the premier gathering spot in Boston for the powerful: politicians, bankers, judges, athletes, visiting film stars, and celebrities. He opened his restaurant on Pier 4 in 1963, and by 1981, it was grossing some $12 million annually. Three years later, it was serving nearly 700,000 meals per year and was considered the fifth-most successful restaurant in America in terms of revenue.
Mr. Athanas was a self-made multimillionaire; he also founded Anthony's Hawthorne in Lynn, Anthony's Pier 4 Cafe and Hawthorne by the Sea Tavern in Swampscott, and Anthony's Cummaquid Inn in Yarmouth Port, Cape Cod. Roger Berkowitz, chief executive of Legal Sea Foods restaurants, described Mr. Athanas yesterday as one of the great restaurateurs of the 20th century."
At one time, Mr. Athanas employed some 800 people in his restaurants. His sons Anthony Jr., Michael, Robert, and Paul now handle the day-to-day operations of the restaurants. His wife of 64 years, Esther Athanas, died last November.
