SWAMPSCOTT — At one time, General Glover House was one of the busiest restaurants in New England — but its status these days is not as glamorous.
The former restaurant, which has been closed since the 1990s, has been issued a violation notice from the town of Swampscott for being a “blighted or unsafe structure.”
Located in Vinnin Square where the Salem-Swampscott-Marblehead line meets, the former restaurant was one of the prized assets of the late Anthony Athanas, who took over the operation in 1957.
The violation is meant to prompt a clean-up of the Glover property, still owned by the Athanas family, and in the longer term, possibly spark a more productive reuse.
Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said he’s been having discussions with Marblehead’s Town Administrator Jason Silva about a potential shared vision for the property, which is located in a district that is zoned for transit-oriented, mixed-use development.
“To me, it’s an exciting property,” said Fitzgerald. “It’s a linchpin in a really busy commercial plaza. For years, the Glover House was the establishment where people had wedding (receptions). It was quintessential New England, Swampscott and Marblehead. Our challenge for this generation is what’s next? How do we replicate a little bit of that magic and create a sense of that special place that many people continue to have a fond memory of?”
General Glover House, originally the home of the famed Revolutionary War hero, General John Glover, had surged in popularity by the early 1960s.
At the time of Glover’s peak, Athanas was operating several other highly successful restaurants in the region, including Hawthorne-by-the-Sea in Swampscott, and his first operation, Anthony’s Hawthorne in nearby Lynn, one of the best known restaurants on the North Shore at its peak. All except Hawthorne-by-the-Sea have since closed.
The property at 299 Salem St., which includes three buildings, was found to be in violation of the town’s general bylaw, “improvement of blighted or unsafe structures or property and the maintenance of vacant buildings.” The bylaw was passed by Town Meeting members last year to give town officials the authority to enforce the improvement of dilapidated properties.
In his correspondence with the property owner, the town’s building commissioner, Max Kasper, wrote that he’s determined the structures are in need of “major maintenance and repair,” and has requested that the owners take “substantial steps to remedy these numerous major deficiencies.”
Kasper noted that major components of the roof and wall structures are deteriorated, and the property is inadequately secured, which he determined by observing numerous broken windows, gaping holes in the structure and open doors. He said the property’s neglect was apparent by debris and rubbish that had accumulated by the buildings.
“Given the condition of the structures, it is likely that voluntary compliance can likely only be achieved through partial or full demolition of the structures,” Kasper wrote.
Kasper said he hasn’t heard from the property owners since the violation was issued last month, but if there’s still a lack of compliance by the end of March after additional notices are issued, the town would be able to impose daily fines of $300 under the new bylaw.
However, Wig Zamore, an Athanas family representative, said that’s not the case. Since receiving the notice, Zamore said repairs have been made to the structures on the property.
Zamore said the family wants to work with the town and the other two municipalities on the redevelopment of the property. He noted the family’s long-time presence in the community, which includes their continued operation of Hawthorne-by-the-Sea and their current partial use of the Glover property, which operates as their financial headquarters.
He said there’s a lot of interest in the property from developers, but the family’s interest is in selling to a developer who would “do right by the community.” Although the notice calls for the property to be demolished, Zamore said that would be the responsibility of a future developer, not the family.
“These kinds of redevelopments are not something that you snap your fingers and do,” said Zamore. “It’s easier to envision multi-family housing, rather than anything else on that property. It’s next to a golf course in Marblehead and Swampscott and next to the Vinnin Square shopping plaza. It also doesn’t have the amount of acreage that the shopping centers have for parking.”
Anthony’s Hawthorne, also formerly operated by Athanas, which closed in 2003, met a similar fate in Lynn. With development all around the former downtown staple, the property remained vacant and dilapidated. City officials considered the building to be a “nuisance” until it was finally demolished this past fall.
Anthony’s Pier 4 Restaurant in Boston and Anthony’s Cummaquid Inn in Yarmouthport on Cape Cod have also ceased operations.
Glover is one of several “blighted” properties the town of Swampscott has identified. A similar notice has been sent to the owners of a former gas station at 182 Paradise Road, which Kasper said has not been properly maintained.
Kasper said the town’s standard is that all properties are safe, secure and maintained. With fewer than 100 commercial properties in town, each one that falls into disrepair affects the overall health and welfare of the community, Fitzgerald added.
“We are approaching these conversations with an open (mind), but given the blighted bylaw, we expect more than good intentions when working with people,” said Fitzgerald.
