Iconic Faneuil Hall Pub To Close

Clarke’s, the dark-wood pub across from Faneuil Hall that opened in 1975, has closed after more than 50 years in business. (boston.com) The bar operated at 21 Merchants Row and served its last customers on Saturday, according to owners who confirmed the closure after the Boston Globe first reported it. (masslive.com) Owner Stephen V. Miller said the first-floor unit at the building was foreclosed in June, the owners tried to buy the property at auction, and the price came in too high. They chose not to sign a lease with the new owner. (boston.com) Miller also said downtown Boston still has not recovered its old weekday crowds after the pandemic, with fewer office workers returning full time to the Financial District and Faneuil Hall area. (boston.com) The closing lands in a part of downtown that city officials and merchants have been trying to revive. Boston.com reported on April 17 that Faneuil Hall businesses were pressing for a bigger role in plans to remake the marketplace under new management. (boston.com) Clarke’s was one of the older holdouts around Quincy Market, a district that has lost other familiar names in recent years, including the Cheers location in Faneuil Hall Marketplace, which shut down in 2020. (wror.com) (boston.com) Boston.com said Clarke’s 50-year run included game-watch parties, a cappella performances, and a brush with organized-crime history tied to a takeover case in the early 2000s. (boston.com) The Globe’s follow-up on April 23 turned into a wake of sorts, with readers sending in stories about first dates, St. Patrick’s Day crowds, and decades of after-work drinks at a bar that outlasted much of old downtown. (bostonglobe.com) Now the lights are out at a place that had been pouring pints on Merchants Row since Gerald Ford was president. (masslive.com)