The legendary Duff’s closed in 2013, after more than four decades in the Central West End, but its legacy lives on among the local industry scene. To honor the 50th anniversary of the bygone institution’s opening, a reunion is being staged for its former servers and employees at SqWires on July 30. At this writing, the event is not open to the public.
“It was just a funny little dream to open a neighborhood restaurant to see who comes,” says original co-owner Karen Duffy, who plans to be in attendance at the reunion. “It just kind of grew from there into something very special. And the food was good.”
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Duff’s customers referred to the food as “around the world cuisine,” with a French flair. The menu included dishes that ranged from coquilles St.-Jacques to ham-and-cheese sandwiches (originally listed on the menu as croque-monsieur, though few customers were familiar with the term). “It was casual dining in a relaxed atmosphere,” Duffy adds.
When the restaurant first opened, in the ‘70s, an energized bohemian presence was moving into the neighborhood. The confluence of ideas and cultures led to such game-changing CWE restaurants as Duff’s and Balaban’s, members of what the late Joe Pollack referred to as the Class of ’72.
At first, however, some neighbors weren’t sure what to make of Duff’s. Frank Mormino, owner of next-door bar Europa 390, wasted no time in expressing his displeasure to his new neighbors about the counterculture movement in the area. “He didn’t like us at first,” Duff recalls with a laugh, “but as it turned out, he really ended up loving Duff’s and the people who worked there.” Mormino even gifted his barstools to Duff’s when Europa 390 closed its doors in 1987. That space eventually became part of Duff’s.
Partly due to its reputation as a passionate supporter of the arts and due to its proximity near Left Bank Books, Duff’s hosted a number of notable artists passing through the area over time. Those names include novelist Kurt Vonnegut, recently deceased author and Hells Angels member Sonny Barger, Anthony Bourdain (honored there one evening with a dinner cooked by local chefs), and The Grateful Dead. “Our chef Jimmy [Voss] cooked for them for many years on the road,” Duffy says. “One day, they came through, and I guess all the Dead Heads found out about it, because you’d see kids walking back and forth in front of the restaurant trying to get a sighting of one of the band members.”
Former Duff’s server Margaret Kelly, who’s co-organizing the reunion, remembers the leadership of Duffy and Kirby fondly. “They ran a restaurant like no others because they were Mom and Dad, and we were their children,” says Kelly. “You could get fired on a Monday and get hired back the next Monday—that’s the God’s honest truth. I saw it happen so many times, all I could do was laugh.”
“We were very forgiving parents,” admits Duffy. “We had the best staff. So many people stayed for so many years. That’s what made Duff’s great—the people who worked there.”
A ticket is required for entry to the Duff’s reunion. For further details, email Kelly at [email protected].
