Celebrating
50
Years
_____________________________________________________________________________
In 1957,
Leo Linquata bought
the Tupman Thurlow Fish Wharf, now known as the Seven
Seas Wharf. The purchase was a practical one as Leo
was supplying oil - via his company, Progressive Oil
- to twelve boats which were tied onto the dock.
Leo’s son Michael
Linquata, wanted to build a restaurant on the
property. After acquiring two partners – Kay Spittle
and Fiore Masse – the restaurant opened its doors
for business in April of 1958. In 1966 Michael took
full control over the restaurant. Since then he has
remained President of the company.
During this time, the restaurant was a white
building with black shutters and occupied the front
of the property where the Compass Rose function
facility is now. There was dining downstairs while
upstairs there was a dramatic function hall with
cathedral ceilings. As today, the delicious, authentic
seafood and
– of course – the view were the main attractions. So
attractive were these that
the crew of Bewitched filmed an episode at
the restaurant between 1972 and 1973. There is a
great picture of Leo and Michael with the entire
crew – including Liz Montomergy and Dick Sargent
among the other stars – in front of the old
building. In the late 70’s the Today Show also
filmed
on site.
About fifteen
years ago, in the early nineties, Leonard, Michael’s
eldest son, came aboard as the Treasurer of the
company and the Manager of The Gloucester House.
“Lenny” obtained an AS degree from the Culinary
Institute in America in Hyde Park, New York in 1972
and graduated from University of Massachusetts Amherst with a BS cum
laude in Hotel and Restaurant Management in 1976.
Lenny wears many hats around the restaurant from
cooking behind the line, to creating new seafood
dishes, to ensuring functions run smoothly. He has a
passion for politics and local history and is an
award-winning raconteur. Today, Lenny's wife, Dottie, is the office manager and
his brother, Michael Jr., is the assistant manager
of the Gloucester House.
Although the
restaurant was erected in 1957, today it has been
completely rebuilt. Unfortunately, the building and
the pilings supporting the wharf suffered much
damage from the no-name storm that occurred at the
end of October 1991. This was the same storm that
was featured in Sebastian Junger’s book "The Perfect
Storm," and later in the film based on this story
starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. In the winter of 1992 the
first renovation took place towards the rear of the
property (closer to the harbor). This construction
built a new dining area for patrons now known as
"The Pub." The newest
addition was completed in November of 2006 and
created a new function facility named The Compass Rose
Room.
The Linquata
family invites you to learn more about the amazing
accomplishments of Leo and Michael. Please visit
their personal pages by clicking on their respective
names:
Leo
Linquata
Michael Linquata
