Chowder Pot Family

I have known John Bencivengo since we attended Amity Jr High many years ago. He has always been a great friend, and a giving person for all of his life. Today, however, he needs OUR help.

It has been about 8 weeks since John was forced to close his doors as the owner of the Chowder Pot Restaurant in Branford. The Branford community was devastated upon learning of its closing. Hundreds of people were so saddened and shared their great memories and joy on Facebook often going there first as a child then as adults. He loved his employees as well as the tens of thousands of customers over so many years.

John worked there for 38 years before buying the business in 2017 from John Smith and his family. He has always been so grateful to the Smith family for all their help and friendship over the years.

Let me share with you some of John's background.

After high school, John attended the Culinary Institute of America and soon discovered his love for cooking. After he graduated in 1979, he was hired at the Chowder Pot.

In 1981, John married his high school sweetheart Margret Amadeo and soon after started family of five.

Today, John’s children are ages 33-39 as well as having 7 grandchildren.

John, Margret and their children worked at the Chowder Pot and together they all played a role in their success.

A few of John's professional and personal achievements included being named treasurer of the Shoreline Culinary Association for over 10 years, as well as being honored by the Amity Hall of Fame in 2018 for his achievements in Culinary Fine Arts.

The Chowder Pot had been a landmark in Branford for decades. Over the years, the restaurant hosted hundreds of banquets, several weddings, graduations, reunions and often had meet & greets with professional athletes, most notably Lawrence Taylor of the NY Giants. It has always been known for their great seafood, prime rib as well as being famous for its lobster bisque which was Johns personal recipe. Thousands of customers came from all over Connecticut including visitors from various states when visiting family or friends in Connecticut.

Like many restaurants much changed when Covid hit. The Chowder Pot was forced to initially close its doors for over a month and the business suffered even when it finally reopened. The "takeout only" resulted in the loss of revenues of 90% of their normal business. The loss in revenue was too great to overcome.

After Covid, food prices continued to increase, the building required many expensive repairs which forced John to close his doors once again; this time for over 6 weeks. Once he reopened, the loss of revenue made it impossible for John to catch up. As much as he tried to make it work, he was too deep in the hole. In fact, during the final year, John continued to work and not take a paycheck so that his employees got paid. Over the past few years, in order to keep his doors, open, he had to borrow a significant amount of money.

Upon Johns closing, he employed 62 full time employees including his three family members.

Today John needs our HELP. Please consider donating as little or as much as you can to John and his family.