Yankee Clipper Restaurant, Sandwich. Courtesy of Rose and Bob Gianferante.
THE YANKEE CLIPPER
Address: 131 Route 6A, Sandwich
Years Active: 1932–1985
It started when the town of Sandwich was only home to 1,400 people, during the early days of the Great Depression. It lasted through that hard time, three wars and ten different presidents of the United States. It was one part seasonal restaurant and one part village pub. It was the iconic Yankee Clipper Restaurant on Route 6A.
The Yankee Clipper, named after the fast clipper sailing ships that became popular during the mid-nineteenth century, started as the brainchild of Sandwich resident Jack Bazzinotti in 1932. The location chosen to house this new venture was no accident, either. The corner of Route 6A and Jarves Street in Sandwich was home to several other enterprises run by the Bazzinotti family. The family owned a gas station and a convenience store in the immediate area at the time.
Jack Bazzinotti ran the Yankee Clipper as a seasonal establishment priding itself on fresh fish, lobster, chicken and seafood. The restaurant’s reputation garnered it some accolades, as it would be recognized as a fine eatery by the people at Duncan Hines and Gourmet magazine.
Meanwhile, off Cape a young Bob Gianferante was plying his trade in the restaurant business fresh out of college. Bob worked for the Sheraton, Red Coach Grill in Hingham and White Cliffs Country Club in Plymouth. As luck would have hit, he bumped into Jack Bazzinotti’s brother, who informed Bob in 1964 that Jack was looking to sell the Yankee Clipper. Wanting to run his own place, Bob made an offer and became owner.
In a high-class move, on assuming the ownership of the Yankee Clipper, Bob kept on most of the staff who had worked under Jack and fleshed out the rest of the employees from the local population to help keep the smalltown vibe of the restaurant. There were no immediate grand changes to the restaurant when Bob and his wife, Rose, took over. The menu changed a little, but the décor inside stayed very much intact. There were two dining rooms, which helped the establishment seat up to 160 people at a time. One dining room had hard pine floors, and the other had a maple floor. Gianferante refinished the floor during the off season, and it gave off such a beautiful shine that customers would often ask if they were even allowed to walk on it. There were nautical paintings on the walls, high-back booths and a bar. The large seating capacity meant that most times it was possible to find a table, with minimal wait time.
From Memorial Day to Columbus Day the people came. They enjoyed the fresh, authentic seafood often brought in that day from fishermen out in Cape Cod Bay. According to Bob, the most beloved menu item might have been their roast duck. The secret? It was using ducks raised nearby on the famed Walter H. Mayo Duck Farm in Orleans. Located on the way to Nauset Beach, this farm hatched as many as one thousand ducklings per year. Fresh duck was a big drawing card. When Mayo’s farm closed, Gianferante chose a farm on Long Island to get his ducks, but the item’s popularity did not wane.
One unique aspect to the Yankee Clipper was the fact that even though it was a seasonal restaurant, it was a year-round establishment. When the main restaurant closed Columbus Day weekend, Gianferante’s locale went from a jumping hot spot of lunches and dinners to a village pub. There was a simpler, pared-down menu featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, chowder and, of course, liquor. It became a spot for locals to hang out during the long and, at times, excruciating winter.
As time went on and the population of the town grew, it only made business better for Bob and Rose. They still knew most customers by face when they came in. The Canal Generating Plant opened in 1968 and brought more jobs and people to the area. Naturally, many of the local fishermen stopped in to eat, not just sell their catch. All in all, it remained a “local place in a lovely town,” as Bob wistfully recalled.
In 1985, after more than twenty years in the business and putting in more sixteen- and eighteen-hour days than he cared to remember, Bob knew it was time to leave the restaurant behind. Much the same way as he had originally heard about the restaurant’s sale, it was a customer who informed Bob that his girlfriend was looking to buy a place. An offer was made, and during the offseason, the Yankee Clipper was sold quietly. It reopened as the Bare Tree Inn.
Bob Gianferante tried his hand at construction before retiring, while Rose began working in real estate. The couple still lives on Cape Cod to this day and has fond memories of watching their “interesting little town” grow over the years. As of 2016, the Sandwich Antiques Center resides in the building where the Yankee Clipper stood for fifty-three years.