Do you know how Arthur’s Tavern got its name? Meet Arthur….. Arthur McGreevy.
Arthur was born on Dec. 6, 1927, in Orange, N.J., and lived most of his life in Morris Plains, N.J., before moving to Sparta, N.J., where he lived before his death on November 3, 2011. Arthur attended Seton Hall Prep School and studied poultry husbandry at Rutgers University. He also served four years in the United States Navy.
Arthur McGreevy’s business philosophy was the same for each restaurant: dedication to detail and willingness to sacrifice his personal time and life.
Arthur owned Arthur’s Tavern in Morris Plains, Hoboken, and Arthur’s St. Moritz in Sparta. He also owned Llewellyn Farms in Morris Plains, The Black Bull Inn in Mountain Lakes, Arthur’s Tavern in North Brunswick, and Arthurs Emerson. Many didn’t know that he also owned In Chester’s Larison’s Turkey Farm.
Click on any of the icons on the interactive map to learn more about the McGreevy restaurant empire.
Arthur’s first job after WW2 was working in the kitchen at Llewellyn Farms in Morris Plains, where he worked as a window washer, dishwasher, and bartender. Llewellyn Farms was established as a dairy farm in the early 20th century. Over the years, it evolved into a popular restaurant and event venue.
After the Navy, I got a job as a “pearl diver” at Llewellyn Farms restaurant, which was a fancy name for the person who got to wash the dishes by hand.
McGreevy would purchase Llewellyn Farms Restaurant in 1950 which would make it his first of many.
In 1957, Arthur McGreevy purchased his second restaurant, the Brook Tavern in Morris Plains, adding to his family’s restaurant holdings and changing the name to Arthur’s Tavern. As McGreevy stewarded the company, the Arthur’s franchise would ultimately grow to five locations, but it is now the only restaurant in the family’s possession.
The Newark Star-Ledger quoted Arthur in 1991: “Although McGreevy has been honored many times by every manor New Jersey restaurant organization, as well as for his charitable and religious endeavors, he still views as his greatest accomplishment the fact that he makes a pleasant and inexpensive night out available to young married people, older people on a fixed income, and “everyone in between.” We couldn’t agree more.
What was originally the Hoboken House at 237 Washington St, Hoboken, became another popular McGreevy Arthur’s steakhouse in the late 70s and early 80s. Claim to fame? The 24 or 48 oz. Delmonico steak!
Our research is still looking for details on just how long McGreevy owned the establishment, but we do know as Arthur’s Tavern was sold to David and Wanda Jacey in 2011 and ultimately closed in 2022.
What would a story about restaurants be without some research? So we had to visit Arthur’s in Morris Plains. Then we needed more research, and more research, and more research… you get the idea. Here are some photos of some of our research:
Our researchers created this story after learning that Arthur McGreevy and his family owned Larison’s Turkey Farm Inn nearby Chester, New Jesey. Then we put two and two together, and the light bulb went off about why Arthur’s was called Arthur’s in Morris Plains. That’s why we love telling stories about history: You never know when one story leads to another.
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