An iconic Gloucester, Massachusetts bar has closed after decades of serving the public.
The House of Mitch has been open since the 50's and quickly closed on Halloween night after the owner of the building sold the land.
The official name is Mitch's Sports Bar and grill, but no one ever called it that. They preferred "The House of Mitch Establishment,” forming the letters H-O-M-E.
Owner Steven Bertolino said, "We live on an island. Everyone knows everybody, you know what I mean? So it really was home."
The building is owned by someone else and they recently finalized a sale of the land, forcing a quick closure, after decades of serving Gloucester.
One local resident said, "That night with the closing, it felt like a big wake, but a good wake, you know?"
This spot has forever been popular with fishermen and their families, being just feet away from the harbor.
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Another resident said, "People came to town and meet us here in the afternoon. We would always send them to Mitch’s if they really wanted good seafood. It might have been a paper plate, but it was right off the boat. It was good as any way you could get it."
One of the stories we often heard was told by Jim, who has been coming here his entire life, growing up with the bar.
He said, "It was a family thing. It was a family bar and it's sad. We don't have it no more. We were just saying today, where are we going now?"
The chalkboard outside reads thanks for memories from the Mitch’s family. They’re not sure what's going to be here now that the building has been sold, but whatever it becomes, it certainly won't be home.
