Duchess (restaurant)

Duchess Worldwide, Inc., doing business as Duchess, is a privately owned and operated regional casual fast food restaurant chain that operates in southwestern Connecticut. Duchess was founded in 1956 by Harold and Jack Berkowitz in Bridgeport and based in Milford, Connecticut. There are 14 locations all in the Fairfield and New Haven counties of Connecticut. The restaurants feature an eat-in dining room, take-out service, and a drive-thru.[2]

Duchess Worldwide, Inc.
Duchess
TypePrivate
IndustryFast food restaurants
Founded1956 (1956) in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Founders
  • Harold Berkowitz
  • Jack Berkowitz
HeadquartersMilford, Connecticut, United States
Number of locations
14 (July 20, 2021)
Area served
Connecticut
Key people
  • Michael Berkowitz (CEO)
  • Gary Lavin (CFO)
  • James Ferrell (COO)
ProductsHamburgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, wraps, salads, chicken sandwiches, fish sandwiches, breakfast, soups, french fries, desserts, soft drinks, milkshakes, smoothies, coffee
RevenueIncrease $5 million[1]
Websiteduchessrestaurants.com

History

In 1956, brothers-in-law and diner owners Jack and Harold Berkowitz bought a restaurant named Maraczi's that sold hotdogs and hamburgers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The brothers needed to put a name on the paperwork and they decided to name the restaurant after Dutchess County, New York, without the "T". After the renaming, the Duchess fast food chain began to expand operations. As of 2018, Duchess has expanded to 14 locations in the Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut.[3][4]

Duchess does not freeze their food and only cooks it fresh. Duchess offers more than 100 items on the menu and everything is cooked to order.[5]

Locations

Duchess has 13 locations and are found only in Connecticut:[6]

Fairfield County
  • Bridgeport
  • Darien
  • Fairfield (2)
  • Monroe
  • Norwalk
  • Shelton
  • Stratford

New Haven County
  • Ansonia
  • Milford
  • Naugatuck
  • Orange

Incidents

On May 31, 1981, while responding to the report of a burglary at Duchess' Darien location, Officer Kenneth Bateman of the Darien Police Department was killed. The suspect escaped and remains at large. Bateman's murder remains the only unsolved killing of a Connecticut police officer on record.[7] In 2015, Darien authorities offered a $100,000 reward for information about the murder.[8]

See also

References
  1. www.duchessrestaurants.com https://duchessrestaurants.com/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. "Duchess features" (PDF). Duchess Restaurants. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  3. "Doing it Fresh for Over 50 Years". Shelton-Derby, CT Patch. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  4. "History". The Hour. 2014-07-25. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  5. Rob Varnon. "What's Cooking?". Connecticut Post, Fairfield, Connecticut. Retrieved December 18, 2005.
  6. "Duchess Restaurants : Locations". www.duchessrestaurants.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  7. "Judge: Man supplied gun that killed Darien cop". 2015-11-20.
  8. "$100,000 Reward Offered for Info in Murder of Darien Officer". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
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