Zeke’s Place, a family-run breakfast and lunch nook on East Main Street known for its delicious food and generous portions has closed for good.
The single-story restaurant at 66 E. Main St. in East Gloucester was missing its signs and flags this week. A sign on the door read simply: “Closed.”
Its dishes included a corned beef scramble, a paleo power breakfast, fried chicken and waffles, an asparagus or portabella “Bennie.” Other dishes over the years included apple pie French toast, gummy bear French toast and fish cakes.
“As many of you have noticed we have decided to close our doors quite suddenly,” read a post on Zeke’s Place’s Facebook page. “It wasn’t an easy decision as we will miss our customers and staff.”
The family that ran the restaurant for the better part of a decade has been debating for some time if closing would be the best thing to do.
The owners, chef Michael DeCoste and Danielle Hopkins, said Sunday this was the first time in 10 years the entire family was not working.
“As far as why we closed it just wasn’t making sense anymore,” Hopkins said in a message to the Times this week. “Costs included rent and utilities have gone up but the landlord was willing to work with us. She had a mortgage to pay too.
“For the amount of hours Mike, more than me, put in financially, we can do that without the stress and responsibility.”
They were reluctant to raise prices knowing many of their favorite customers were on fixed incomes. Hopkins also noted they have missed a lot of family milestones over the years. She said DeCoste “had an opportunity to take a job and we jumped on it.”
Other reasons for the restaurant’s closing were “the rising costs of everything and the slower than usual summer had us worried about the future when we were going to have to go way up on our prices to survive,” their Facebook post reads.
“Thank you so much to our loyal customers over the years and the staff that has come and gone we will miss you but we are excited to move forward with the next chapter of our lives and hope to see everyone around town,” the post reads.
“I feel really strongly about this place,” DeCoste told the Times in late summer of 2021 in a series about how local businesses were weathering the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, the death of DeCoste’s landlord risked the diner’s closure.
The building and its apartments were being sold and major work was needed to bring the building up to code. He was concerned about his rent going up to offset these costs.
Ultimately, the three-story mixed use building with the low-slung restaurant out front was bought by a Gloucester couple for $650,000 in February 2022, according to city records.
Zeke’s Place also faced a serious crisis in September 2018 when DeCoste was badly burned in a flash fire at the restaurant. He was taken first to Beverly Hospital then airlifted to Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston suffering burns to 27% of his body, according to a description on the GoFundMe crowdfunding site that raised nearly $17,500 from the community for medical expenses and travel to Boston.
In the accident, a can of cooking fluid left on the corner of the stove had exploded after the restaurant had closed for the day, according to reports. DeCoste suffered third-degree burns over his arms, chest and legs, which put him out of work for a few months, according to stories in the Times.
Community support in the form or fundraisers and donated supplies from The Building Center to repair and clean up the fire damage helped save the restaurant, which shut down for six days due to the fire.
Hopkins, who generally worked at the front of the house, joined DeCoste’s sisters, Lindsey and Vanessa Gigliotti, in the kitchen.
“It’s great to be back,” DeCoste told the Times in January 2019 after returning to work over the holiday season. He was able to return to work earlier than the eight-to-10 weeks he was initially told he would be in the hospital with more time at home after that to recuperate. He spent two weeks and three days in the hospital.
Hopkins said the only other times Zeke’s closed were for their son’s high-school graduation and for their younger son who took part in a state wrestling tournament last year.
Hopkins said she started working at Zeke’s pregnant with her oldest son who is turning 20 next month.
“We had some of the best customers,” she said, “a lot have been like family.
“I am thankful for my time there and the memories.
“We always had great staff. Some have come and gone but remain like family to us. We are looking forward to being able to have our time off more closely match the rest of the world so we can spend time with those we care about.”
Hopkins said no one forced them to close.
“It was just time to start something new that allowed us to have a more regular schedule,” she said.
The loss of Zeke’s Place leaves one less place to eat out in East Gloucester.
“It’s very sad, they are certainly a local institution,” said Ward 1 Councilor Scott Memhard, noting that restaurants do come and go.
He said he hoped another restaurant would fill the void left by the closure.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.