After 137 years in business, the Locke-Ober restaurant in Boston closed abruptly last week. The owner has sold the building and I have read that the place was struggling as the character of the dining scene in downtown changed over the years. I suppose that the place succumbed to the Howard Johnson's syndrome in that the people who liked to go there died off and the younger generation wasn't interested. Or, it could have been a gross failure of marketing.
I walked by the place for the first time ever today. It is down an alley that feels like so many remnants of 18th and 19th century Boston. This picture, which I did not take, makes the space in front of the establishment look less claustrophobic than it actually is. I am told that the interior was impressive, but probably less impressive than newer restaurants with better views. Boston has some successful "alley" commercial areas, but they tend to have more than just one business.
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