Jacob Wirth Restaurant
Defunct restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Jacob Wirth Restaurant was a historic German-American restaurant and bar in Boston, Massachusetts, at 31-39 Stuart Street. Founded in 1868, Jacob Wirth was the second-oldest continuously operated restaurant in Boston when it closed in 2018.[2]
Jacob Wirth Buildings | |
Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| |
    | |
| Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 42°21′04.2″N 71°03′49.8″W |
| Built | 1844 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| MPS | Boston Theatre MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000442 [1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 9, 1980 |
| Removed from NRHP | June 25, 2024 |
The Greek Revival building housing the restaurant was constructed in 1844. The German-style restaurant was founded in 1868 and was the second oldest continuously operating restaurant in the city after the Union Oyster House.[3] The restaurant was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980[1] and designated a Boston Landmark in 1977, with interior and exterior protections.[4] Jacob Wirth was the first distributor of Anheuser Busch products.[5] The Wirth family and the Anheuser family are from the same small town in Germany.[6]
In 2010, Chelsea developer AJ Simboli Real Estate purchased the property for $1.6 million.[7] The restaurant was put up for sale in January 2018[2] after having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy,[8] and closed following a fire in June of that year.[9][10] As recently as October 2021 there was a restoration effort under way to repair fire damage and reopen the restaurant as it had been before its closure.[11]
In March 2022, the building was purchased by Greater Boston Bar Co. for $5.27 million.[12] Their initial hope was to reopen the restaurant by the end of 2022.[13][14] The new owners planned to reopen the restaurant in early 2024.[15] The building was gutted on June 25, 2024, in a large fire.[16]
Popular culture
In George V. Higgins's 1974 novel Cogan's Trade, a meeting takes place at the restaurant.[17]
A wedding scene for the 2010 film Knight and Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, was filmed at the restaurant.[18]
In Dennis Lehane's 2023 novel, Small Mercies, two characters have a date in Jacob Wirth's.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Boston, Massachusetts
- The Student Prince, historical German restaurant in Springfield, Massachusetts
