These two giant seafood restaurants in the Inlet, along with other classic eateries, dominated the restaurant scene for decades in Atlantic City.
An old Hackney's Lobster Girls card
In the early 1960s my brothers and I had a Saturday morning summer ritual. We would hop on our bicycles and ride the six-mile length of the Ventnor and Atlantic City Boardwalks. When we reached Captain Starn’s Seafood Restaurant we would buy the seal chum and feed the seals and sea lions in the pen by the restaurant.
Captain Starn’s and Hackney’s Seafood Restaurant, both located off the Boardwalk in the Inlet section of town, were two of the most famous restaurants on the entire East Coast.
They were part of a glorious era in Atlantic City — the 1940s to the 1960s — when the town was still a bustling tourist mecca in the summertime. The decline of the “Queen of Resorts” and “The World’s Playground” was just around the corner, but before that decline Atlantic City, the whole of Absecon Island and the surrounding region was well known for great restaurants.
Hackney’s, opened by Harry Hackney in 1912, bragged in its advertising that it was, “as famous as the Boardwalk.” This monster-sized facility could seat 3,200 patrons for dinner, and once claimed that it was the largest seafood restaurant in the world. It was famous for its lobster dinners and its lobster tank where you could literally pick up your dinner. Amazingly enough, there were enough customers to keep both Hackney’s and Captain Starn’s hopping despite the fact that they were just down the Boardwalk from each other. Captain 
Starn’s Restaurant, had seating for 750, and was opened by Clarence Starn in 1940.
As noted in a 2005 article by columnist and author Jim Waltzer in Atlantic City Weekly, “When Capt. Starn’s Restaurant and Boating Center was in its prime, the attraction was indeed more than just cuisine. ... A fleet of sailboats and motorboats provided sightseeing excursions round the island. A seaplane took the courageous on thrill rides, ending its run with a nerve-wracking dive into the ocean. Starn’s may have offered a four-star stuffed flounder and broiled Alaskan crab, but it was the atmosphere that kept the place packed.”
Also in the city were Dock’s Oyster House on Atlantic Avenue and the Knife And Fork Inn, the odd-shaped restaurant with the Flemish design, located on Albany and Pacific avenues. These two elegant, long-time culinary icons have survived to this day. So has Tony’s Baltimore Grill, at Iowa and Atlantic avenues, still a local’s favorite for its pizza and spaghetti.
Other Italian favorites that are still around are Angelo’s Fairmount Tavern (opened in 1935), at 2300 Fairmount Ave., and Angeloni’s II Restaurant at 2400 Arctic Ave. Both are local favorites in the town’s Ducktown neighborhood.
If you were in the mood for a great Jewish deli experience you had two excellent choices, Kornblau’s at Virginia and Pacific avenues in Atlantic City, and Lou’s Restaurant on Ventnor Avenue (at Nashville) in Ventnor. Kornblau’s, operated by Morris and Alex Kornblau, was known for its tasty corned-beef and hot pastrami sandwiches. Lou and Helen Adelman opened Lou’s restaurant in February 1946. It featured classic deli sandwiches, salads and soups.
It was dress-up time and a special occasion when we went to Zaberer’s on the Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township. Home of the “Zaber-ized” cocktail (a mug of root beer in my case), it was opened by Charlie Zaberer in the 1940s and, in its heyday, this huge facility and popular banquet spot could seat 1,200. We would also go for a longer trip on rare occasions to Ed Zaberer’s (Charlie’s brother) in Wildwood. (When you take the escalator up to the House of Blues Music Hall at the Showboat you can see an old-style advertisement for Zaberer’s.)
When visiting Atlantic City nostalgia sites online, it becomes clear that the three Kent’s Restaurants were popular tourist stops for summer visitors. Kent’s Restaurant & Baking Co. was founded in 1903 by Morris Walton at 1208 Atlantic Ave. The second location was on Pacific and Illinois avenues, and the third at Atlantic and Arkansas avenues.
Here is one ode to Kent’s pastries found on the site iloveac.com: “Kent’s Restaurant-Bakery Uptown made delicious twice-iced chocolate cakes. The vanilla layers were covered with two chocolate icings, the first frosting was light chocolate and over this was a shiny dark chocolate icing. The cakes sat in the window on raised glass cake stands fancied with white paper doilies.”
On the Boardwalk at Tennessee Avenue, later moving to South Carolina Avenue, was Childs, part of a chain of restaurants started by Samuel and Williams Childs in 1889. Designed to provide “economical meals for the working class,” the chain is credited as the first to use a tray line self-service cafeteria format. The restaurant in Atlantic City could seat 1,000.
This article barely scratches the surface of the great Atlantic City dining experience back in the old days. If you have memories of favorite eateries, please add them to the comments section below.
From the early days of the city through the 1950s, the Inlet was a solid working-class neighborhood buttressed by summer rentals and home to many of the city’s workers.
SPEND SOME TIME IN ATLANTIC CITY AMID ITS FLASHY CASINOS, the fine restaurants, and the rolling beaches and Boardwalk, and you can’t help but marvel at how far the resort has come. But every step you take is still gently haunted by all that has been here before. Atlantic City wears its history like a comfortable old coat — tattered, but comfortable. From its days as a “health” resort in the 19th century, to its naughty and haughty days of irreverence during Prohibition (highlighted in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire) to its eventual decline and then rebirth as an East Coast gambling mecca, Atlantic City and the region has been attracting visitors since its inception. In this issue, our first “Then & Now” issue, we look at Atlantic City’s long journey to get to this point in time. We look at a resort thriving...
Article:
A.C. Library, Stockton College Celebrate Black History Month
Article:
Local History: 'Boardwalk Empire'
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Entertainment: Music, Film and Sports
Article:
The African-American Experience in Atlantic City
Article:
Old Atlantic City: Pre-Gaming Era
Article:
Atlantic City's Casino Era
Article:
Tribute to Tony Mart’s
Article:
The Steel Pier — A Memory of Change
1. AC InTheSeventies said... on Nov 11, 2010 at 08:25AM
“We didn't have much back then in the early 70s. Our vacation was 5 days at the Dolphin Motel in Margate. And our one big night out was a visit to Abe's Oyster House at Atlantic and Arkansas Aves (no longer there). I remember the long rows or tables and the Oyster Crackers on the tables.
After that meal, if we were lucky and had a couple of dollars left over, we would walk to the Steel Pier and watch the barkers, diving bell and try to catch a look at the diving horse.”
2. lbsnyder said... on Nov 12, 2010 at 12:28AM
“It is sad that these great establishments were sold and the properties have languished to the detriment of the public. They were treasures. The laws should force these developers to either develop them or sell them in a period of time.”
3. curtis h. kugel said... on Nov 15, 2010 at 01:57PM
“I would like to embellish your story concerning the many individual owner restaurants in the 1960's in AC. I will start with the Venice Restaurant on Mississippi Ave. across from St. Michael's Church. It was owned by the Dinickelantonio family. Mr Edward Dinick Senior came to work for me at Luigi's Restaurant Co. Inc. located at 2015-17-19-21 Pacific Ave. He was a wonderful employee, and taught me how to operate as a Maitre"D greeting customers. Across the street from Luigi's was "Jimmy's Just a hobby", a small 35 seat operation. If you didn't know Jimmy you did not get in. It was a very private and discreet operation. He also had a larger location on 21st street in Miami Beach, where he remained in the winter season.
The Vienna restaurant located at 1415 boardwalk owned by the Garr Family was also a wonderful restaurant, with great sandwiches. All the boardwalk merchants would hang out there for lunch, and or dinner. Their kitchen would prepare everything on premises.”
4. curtis h. kugel said... on Nov 16, 2010 at 01:47PM
“A wonderful restaurant and bar operating in the 50's and 60's was TONY BARRATA'S ESCORT BAR AND RESTAURANT LOCATED AT ATLANTIC AND MISSOURI AVE. (on the corner). Great Shrimps Scampi, and a relaxing bar atmosphere. It was a few doors away from the 5oo club”
5. Anna said... on Dec 26, 2010 at 09:54AM
“Ed Saberer's restaurant hangs long in my memory. My husband and I had our first dinner there, 5 hours, and started what became a 33 year marriage. The food was outstanding, but what impressed us was all the "compliments of Ed Zaberer" dishes. For instance, a 12 inch platter of shrimp to start with, and the several desserts at the end. Just a memorable experience. Wish that restaurant was still there.”
6. eileen said... on Feb 5, 2011 at 08:06PM
“My family lived around the corner from Capt Starns. We walked there constantly , getting to know the captains who drove the Miss atlantic City andothers. Always climbing the rocks by the boardwalk and walking there length at night. Shopping at Garwood Mills and hitting the beach”
7. John said... on Mar 29, 2011 at 04:20PM
“Docks Oyster House still remains its reputation as the best seafood restaurant on the East coast!”
8. Frank Finelli said... on Mar 29, 2011 at 05:14PM
“I'm in the restaurant business today in pa because of growing up going to restaurants like Luigi's, Captain Starns, Hackney's . It was a great time late 50's early 60's”
9. Evan DOughty said... on May 9, 2011 at 09:30PM
“Capt Starns was my great uncle by marriage. His wife was my grand mothers sister. We sat at his table when we visited and always had the best times be it on the sail boat, one of the motor boats, the helicopter he had or strolling the grounds. Stories abounded of what he had owned and done. I was told at one time he owned a portion of the Steel pier too. I remember the bell, the diving horse, the acades and so many things before gambling came and changed a lot of the town.”
10. marvin said... on Aug 28, 2011 at 04:47AM
“i grew up in atlantic city fond memories”
11. Keith Rodgers said... on Oct 31, 2011 at 10:56AM
“As I sit in my office I'm looking at matchbook photos of my family at the table in Starn's. There are 8 of us, my oldest brother Bruce and my youngest sister Sharon were not there. I'm about 12 in the left-hand match-book so the year must be 1961. The matchbooks are 3.5" wide and 4" tall.
The two are of one panoramic closeup split between the 2. Mom's wearing her favorite dining apparel- a lobster bib. Dad's in a suitjacket, of course!
Dad worked for Bell Tel but he still could take us all to a nice restaurant several times a year. Those were the days!”
12. Anonymous said... on Dec 6, 2011 at 08:49PM
“Great town. Family owned house on bellvue ave. & boardwalk. Everyone sat out to all hours in front of houses. Town Tavern, WhiteHouse, Tony Baltimore Grill. Boardwalk @ night. Italian Village inside Million Dollar Pier. Acme on Atlanitc Ave. Wrestling @ Convention Hall on wednesday nights Cowboy friday's @ Steel Pier. Got in for 50 cents on friday with a coupon from acme supermarket. ( early 70's )
Loved the town. It did always have a shady side about it. I think that's what made it so cool. Those were the days!!!!”
13. Wes Johnson said... on Dec 25, 2011 at 09:49PM
“It could seat 3200? Seriously? What is the source of that information?”
14. Anonymous said... on Feb 18, 2012 at 05:26PM
“In the fifties I sang with a group on the Steel Pier. We stayed at a boarding house a couple blocks from the pier. I don't remember the name of the street or the name of the owners but we were treated like family. As often as we could we treated ourselves to dinner at Hackney's. Atlantic City was a magical place and this was a magical time in my life.”
15. Anonymous said... on Mar 3, 2012 at 12:44AM
“what was the name of the first gourmet italian restaurant in harrahs marina ac”
16. Tim said... on Mar 16, 2012 at 03:53PM
“What was the name of the restaurant next door to the Knife and Fork?”
17. Anonymous said... on Jun 26, 2012 at 09:28AM
“Had forgotten about Hackney's and Starn's....did not go there that frequently as a child, but can remember my mother speaking of them, so we must have been there.
Does anyone remember the small but wonderful Shoreham hotel on Virginia Avenue? It was a door or two away from the Morton Hotel. Also, very close to a small restaurant named "Betty's" which had the most phenomenal home cooked food. Never had I had fried fish filet like that at Betty's (other than my mom's).
Thanks for the memories”
18. Pittsburgh Doug said... on Aug 5, 2012 at 06:55PM
“Captain Starns was the best! And, tes it was more than a great restaurant.... it was a destination. The hustle and bustle around the dokcs, the constant clanging of silverware in the restaurant as large summer dinner party’s feasted o the fresh seafood. Starn’s galley, outside where it was a lot cheaper to eat the same seafood out in the fresh sea air, the boat rides, the seals.
It was the place you always visited at least once during your stay.
Too bad the politicians and planners who sold the city down the drain did not come up with a much better development plan that preserved these important historic elements.
Cape May embraced historic preservation and played to its strengths in remaking itself as a great beach town.
Poor Atlantic City missed that boat. At least I have many happy memories of having a bucket of longnecks and a bottle of beer at the Captain’s Galley and roaming the docks at Starn's Inlet.
Wonder what happened to those fine speed boats?
”
19. Ken Shane said... on Aug 14, 2012 at 09:19AM
“I'm surprised that you didn't mention the White House, which is still going strong, and still making great sandwiches. Speaking of sandwiches, how about the great little place called Jimmy's-Just A Sandwich, which made these amazing, never duplicated steak sandwiches. As for upscale joints, how about Jack Guischard's, and Lou Tendler's, both on Atlantic Avenue? Then there was the unforgettable Bestman's in Margate, which later turned into the wonderful Jul on the Bay.”
20. Susan said... on Sep 2, 2012 at 08:37PM
“I was born in AC. We lived in Chelsea Village, that was on the bay side. My dad worked at Bestman's. My mom worked at the Windsor Cafe on S. Carolina. That's where my parents met. Later my mom worked at Alfred's Villa. It must have been nice in the summer, we would go on the beach in the morning and they would go to work at 4PM. I remember feeding the pigeons on the boardwalk. I also have the lg matchbook photos. When we moved to Absecon my dad worked at Seaview Country Club. Unfortunately my dad died in 58 and we moved to MD. But my son-in-law is from Vineland. And he and his dad have played golf at Seaview's for yrs. Our families have shared a lot of great stories over the yrs. Their main place is Cape May. My mom says you never walked on the boardwalk in your bathing suit. You walked under. (circa 45-55). And her best line is: Once you have lived at the beach, you never get the sand out of your shoes. She is now 96.
Thanks for the stories. I've enjoyed reading and remembering.”
21. Anonymous said... on Oct 7, 2012 at 09:34AM
“jimmys just a hobby,arkansas ave ,cheese cake in a safe ,only had 4 booths, bettys resyaurant moved to miami in the 60.s no longer there.”
22. Tina Brooks said... on Oct 12, 2012 at 02:54PM
“My grandparents had a house in Brigantine. We would go to Captain Starns to walk around, feed the sea lions and then have dinner. I have very fond memories of Captain Starns and was very sorry to see it disappear.”
23. Barb said... on Oct 30, 2012 at 03:49PM
“I lived on Vermont ave. with my grandmom and grandpop.Went to Holy Spirit.my grandpop had a guess your weight scale at Missouri ave and the boardwalk it was there for 50 yrs.when he passed one of my uncle's took it over I also lived on Congress ave,Texas ave went to Our Lady Star of the Sea and danced on Summer Time on the Pier.What good days they were so many of the great stores and hotels are gone.”
24. Anthony Scull said... on Oct 30, 2012 at 08:19PM
“Loved the inlet as a child, my dad had a store in the inlet.
Sculls market (does anyone remember it ?)”
25. Russ In Texas said... on Nov 12, 2012 at 07:45PM
“I am from AC, moved west at 3, but went back often. I remember going to Captain Starns with Grandmother in the 70's I love living in Texas, but the food in SNJ is worth the trip.
”
26. Lynda said... on Dec 1, 2012 at 05:24PM
“I remember riding tandem down to Captain Starns from Ventnor down the boardwalk on Sundays and feeding the sea lions and having breakfast outside. I loved that! I also remember riding the jitney from Ventnor to go to Steel Pier. For only $5 you could see a movie, watch Tony's Allstars, go on the diving bell, see a concert, play games, and watch the diving horse. Those were great times growing up! I went to Angelos last time I was there. Wonderful food!”
27. Anonymous said... on Dec 6, 2012 at 10:18PM
“Carson's Triangle, The Stanley, The Jem, The Toddle Inn, The Shamitz, Super Sub Shop, The Mayfair, Eddies, Maria's, the Great Josh.”
28. Edward Winn said... on Jan 15, 2013 at 09:46PM
“I remember juniors and Franks from the 70s as well as hotel Feely”
29. Beverly said... on Mar 25, 2013 at 10:58AM
“Your article came from a reader in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to me, now grounded in a Snow Storm in St. Louis, MO. Thanks so much. Brought back lots of good memories.”
30. Camille said... on Apr 9, 2013 at 02:28PM
“I grew up in AC on the boardwalk, truly a wonderful place, world's playground. Every summer we went to Ice Capades at Convention Hall and ice cream at Ice cream island in the inlet section. Thanks for the memories”
31. Mike Tabasso said... on Apr 15, 2013 at 07:12AM
“Loved the old days in AC. Enjoyed living at my family hotel, for the summer, the MARCONI, on Pacific Avenue, next to Cole's Atlantic Service Station and the Bamboo Club.
Too bad most people don't remember the old AC and what a gem it was!!”
32. Diane (Toler) Duran said... on Apr 15, 2013 at 12:50PM
“This is so much fun to read, having been raised in A.C. and now living in VA. I miss a lot of A.C. My grandfather was the captain of the large beautiful sailboat that Capt. Starn's provided for tours for awhile and the joy I had was not to be believed getting to ride once in awhile. I lived on Main Ave. right where Capt. Starn's was for my early years, was there when the hurricane ushered in horrible stuff, but as a kid, it was a scary adventure, in 1944 bfore they named them....Thanks for sharing”
33. Jane said... on Apr 22, 2013 at 04:10PM
“Does anyone know when Garwood Mills first opened - the year? Please email jcuddehe@comcast.net. Thanks”
34. Pauline said... on May 21, 2013 at 08:59AM
“Woofies Resturant under Teplisky's (1954) which than moved to Morris & the Boardwalk. That was a 350 seat with a full bake shop in the basement.
My grandparents lived at 8 N. New Hampshire Ave. As a small child we would walk to Capt. Starns and sit by the jetties.The politicians have ruined Atlantic City.”