![]() ![]() In December 2017, a small group which includes Dougherty family acquired Linwood Country Club. That commitment has established Dock’s as a local institution and the Dougherty’s as Atlantic City’s premier restaurant family. Harry’s vision of a fine neighborhood restaurant has been upheld by three subsequent generations who shared his commitment to quality and service. As a fourth-generation co-owner of Dock’s Oyster House, he literally grew up in the only restaurant in Atlantic City older than the Knife & Fork itself.ĭock's was established in 1897 by Frank’s grandfather, Harry Dougherty. The Dougherty Family Traditionįor Frank Dougherty, the restaurant business is not a part of life it’s a way of life. Experience the Knife & Fork for yourself, and discover the restaurant that again has everyone talking. The Knife & Fork’s kitchen has been completely redesigned and now features all new, state-of-the-art stainless steel equipment, including a large grill on which the finest steaks and seafood are meticulously prepared. The only aspect of the renovation that was not a nod to the past was the kitchen. The Wine Room features ocean views, wood floors, and exposed brick and is a perfect location for private parties and special events. One section of the room is devoted to our glass enclosed, temperature and humidity controlled wine “cellar,” where the bottles on our award winning wine list are impressively displayed on floor to ceiling racks. The third floor, formerly part of the Latz family’s apartment, has been transformed into our Wine Room. Stained glass windows were replaced with clear glass to take advantage of the magnificent ocean views, which are also visible from the Main Dining Room. The Ladies’ Dining Lounge, while open to all, is a nod to the Knife & Fork’s early years as a private men’s club when ladies were required remain in a side room adjoining the Main Dining Room. Unfortunately, Mack’s attempt to find a buyer for the Knife & Fork was unsuccessful and the historic restaurant closed in 1997. As Mack approached 80, however, he decided to retire from the grueling restaurant business. Mack bought out his brother, becoming the sole owner of the Knife & Fork, and continued to operate the restaurant with his own irascible style for more than a decade. ![]() In 1985, Mack and Jim, famously unable to get along, decided to part ways. In a famous scene from the movie “Atlantic City,” Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon dined in the restaurant’s popular porch, now known as the Terrace. Over the years, the Knife & Fork became a favorite of local politicians, wealthy vacationers, and Hollywood celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and Vic Damone. Their sons Mack, a decorated war hero, and Jim, an accomplished runner, then took over and redefined the business through the post war decades, surviving the advent of gambling in Atlantic City. In a later season of Boardwalk Empire, the Knife & Fork itself was mentioned and a facsimile was recreated for a major scene in the show.Milton and Evelyn successfully managed the Knife and Fork until Milton died in 1948. ![]() However it would be one specific mover and shaker later to be fictionalized in the HBO megahit series Boardwalk Empire, the Atlantic City power boss and racketeer, Enoch "Nucky" Johnson who would hold forth in an era in which then when portrayed would bring the Knife and Fork Inn newfound fame.Īlthough Babette's Supper Club was not around in the earliest days of Prohibition as depicted in the aforementioned series, the Knife & Fork would have been the closest establishment to mirror the scenes which take place in Babette's on the show at that time and indeed it was chosen to portray the other legendary long gone establishment in the series. Īmong the celebrities and power brokers who wined and dined there during its original run were entertainers such as Rosemary Clooney, Vic Damone and Bob Hope, as well as the casino mogul Steve Wynn and two former Governors of New Jersey, James Florio and Christine Todd Whitman. Then after court battles the elder Latz (over the boisterous objections of the younger Latz) sold the establishment to its current owners the Dougherty family, the longtime proprietors of Docks Oyster House on Atlantic avenue in Atlantic City (the oldest restaurant in the seaside resort first opened in 1897). Then in turn in December 1999 the second Latz's son Andrew decided to run it for his father and the dining establishment was reopened. The restaurant was shut by Milton Latz's son Mack Latz in December 1996. The "porch scene" with Burt Lancaster and Susan Saradon from the 1980 movie "Atlantic City" was shot on the section of the restaurant now known as the Terrace. Postcard showing Knife and Fork Inn, circa 1975. ![]()
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