History

CELEBRATING 150+ YEARS!

Manuel Claudio fell in love with Greenport in 1854 when the ship he was working on docked in its beautiful harbor. Sixteen years later in 1870, Manuel permanently set foot ashore, never to sail again. And with the money he saved through his years at sea, he opened Claudio’s Tavern. Throughout the years, the tavern underwent numerous changes. In 1886 he oversaw the installation of a magnificent Victorian bar, still there today.

During Prohibition Claudio’s became a fine dining restaurant on the ground floors with a lively upstairs bar for imbibing illegal spirits. These were brought in by bootleggers by boat, through hidden trap doors behind the bar, one of which still exists to this day. In the late 1920s, Greenport became the mecca for the country’s sailing forays in defense of The America’s Cup. Around the walls of Claudio’s hang photographs, along with artifacts including a piece of Commodore Vanderbilt’s main mast from his successful sail in the 1930 Cup Race still hanging outside the restaurant. The Claudio family is proud that the transfer to new ownership is to three Greenport loyalist families who have taken the helm of Claudio’s, continuing their proud legacy.