Mount Vernon takes helm of ‘Ship’

LYNNFIELD ? A Nahant family has purchased The Ship restaurant in Lynnfield, the latest addition to an eatery chain that began with the Mount Vernon Pub in Somerville over a half century ago.Brett Henry of Nahant said the family was offered a deal too good to pass up. Last week, friends and relatives were invited to a soft opening. Since then, signs to reflect the change in name and ownership have been affixed to the building, which is designed to resemble a sailing ship.In keeping with the chain’s theme, the new business at 24 Broadway along Route 1 south is named The Mount Vernon at the Ship restaurant.Five years ago, the family purchased The Wharf restaurant on North Shore Road in Revere and renamed it The Mount Vernon at The Wharf. It has since emerged as a popular dining spot with live entertainment, its rear wall affording a view of the Pines River and a fleet of bobbing boats.”It’s kind of a unique dining place,” Henry said of The Ship, noting that his father, Martin Sr., will oversee the business on Route 1 while he runs the day-to-day operations. “The whole décor has changed and there’s a new menu.”Henry described the menu as a mix of classic American fare and pub food, noting that familiar dishes include pork and lamb chops, steak turkey tips, lobster, and Italian entres such as lasagna, ravioli and chicken parmigiana.Like the other restaurants in the Mount Vernon chain, The Ship will offer the signature twin-lobster special as well as seafood dishes like baked scallops and scrod.Portions are generous and specials are offered nightly, Henry said.The restaurant is located adjacent to the Christmas Tree Shoppe and the Yankee Candle shop, businesses that together create a destination that attracts tour buses from New Hampshire and Maine. It is open for lunch and dinner.Family friend Tom Quinn of Nahant said the original Mount Vernon restaurant was founded by the late John Henry, who was 18 when he arrived in the U.S. from Ireland in 1935.”He was a young lad in his 20s when he started the Mount Vernon Pub on the site of the Somerville Meat Company,” he said. “John Henry led his family through the Great Depression and went on to expand and build the Mount Vernon restaurant into the landmark that it is today.”For more about the Henry family’s chain of restaurants, visit the company’s Web site at www.mtvernonrestaurants.com