By: Anthony Bolton
Atlantic City has been home to many restaurants over the years, with several decades-old establishments showing the history of the city.
One of the oldest operating restaurants in Atlantic City is the Knife & Fork Inn, a steak and seafood restaurant established in 1912. The inn initially started out as an all-male drinking and dining club, with a separate ladies’ lounge on the second floor.
During Prohibition, the inn continued serving alcohol and hosted gambling on its upper floors. Federal agents eventually raided the club and destroyed the contents of its bar. Following the raid, the Latz family purchased the building in 1927, removed the bar and converted the club into a public restaurant frequented by many politicians and celebrities.
Milton and Evelyn Latz continued to manage the inn until Milton’s death in 1948, leaving the inn to their sons Mack and Jim. In 1985, Mack bought out his brother Jim and became the sole owner of the inn. Mack later decided to retire, and after he was unable to find a buyer, the restaurant closed in 1997.
Mack’s son Andrew leased the restaurant in 1999. However, a search for a new owner eventually led Mack to Frank Dougherty, a friend and owner of Dock’s Oyster House, who purchased the inn with his wife, Maureen Shay, in 2005.
Shay, co-owner of the inn with her husband Frank, has worked at the inn since the Dougherty family took ownership. She discussed the major renovations undertaken since 2005, including changes to the restaurant’s dining areas and bar.
On the Knife & Fork Inn’s contributions to the community, Shay spoke about the community and charity events that the restaurant has contributed to, emphasizing the give-and-take relationship that the inn has with its community partners.
“We consider ourselves partners with the community,” Shay said. “The community supports us, it’s a two-way street.”
Shay described Atlantic City as a “resilient city” and said that the city has a lot to offer people beyond the Boardwalk and the casinos. She also mentioned beautification projects happening in Atlantic City, such as road repairs on Atlantic Avenue and housing developments in the Absecon Inlet. Shay related these recent construction projects to efforts to bring more visitors to Atlantic City, which will boost foot traffic for restaurants in the area.
Shay’s final comments touched on the changes that Atlantic City has gone through in recent years, including flooding, the establishment of the Stockton University Atlantic City campus, and infrastructure changes intended to make Atlantic City a safer community.
The photographs of 20th-century Atlantic City displayed throughout the inn’s first and second floors offer a visual record of the city’s past. More than a century after opening, the Knife & Fork Inn remains part of that history, reflecting the changes Atlantic City has experienced while maintaining its place in the city’s dining landscape.
- On the Town Food Tours Stops in Haddonfield and Medford
- New Jersey Deserves More Recognition for Its Film History
- Following the Midterm Elections, South Jersey Residents Have Their Say on Voting
This article was produced as part of Follow South Jersey’s student journalism program, which provides aspiring journalists with practical experience in professional news reporting and writing.
