Joe Perry Jr. grew up in the restaurant industry, though when he was a kid at longtime (now closed) Bangor eatery Perry’s Restaurant, he wasn’t in the kitchen or waiting tables. He was watching his grandfather Charles and father Joe Sr. run the place, which closed in 1996 after nearly 50 years, when the city of Bangor razed the entire block to make way for Shaw’s Supermarket on Main Street.
Now Perry, with his wife, Mary Beth McGinley, has taken up the family business, with their restaurant, The Brickhouse, on Route 1 in downtown Searsport. The menu item that Perry’s Restaurant was undoubtedly best known for — the fried clams — is available at the Brickhouse, with the same secret recipe his grandfather developed in the 1940s.
“We don’t like to divulge our secrets,” said Perry, who opened the Brickhouse with McGinley in June 2010. “But it’s the family recipe that we’ve had for generations. If you remember Perry’s, these are the real deal.”
According to a Bangor Daily News article that was published around the time of Perry’s Restaurant’s closing, a sign hung in the window for several decades that read simply “CLAMS,” reminding their clientele about the menu item that had fed people of all stripes for all those years. Though that sign is gone, the younger Perry does have a number of bits of memorabilia from the old restaurant hanging in The Brickhouse, from old pictures to another sign that reads “Some of the finest people in the world come into this place,” a quote from his grandfather, Charles.
“We try to keep the same feel the old place had, a nice neighborhood place you can come and relax,” Perry said.
In addition to the fried clams, Perry’s serves what he and McGinley call casual American cuisine informed by McGinley’s Italian and Irish heritage. There are burgers and fried fish sandwiches, and there’s an antipasto pizza and grilled portabellas. On the weekends, the Brickhouse offers live music — this Saturday, June 9, Celtic musicians Chris Brinn, Chuck Walsh and Emma Donnelly will perform.
The Brickhouse is open 4 p.m.-close Wednesday-Friday, noon-close Saturday, and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sundays for brunch.
The best of luck to you Joe and your place in Searsport I have many fond memories of your Grandfather and your Dad at Perrys in Bangor. Perrys THE place for clams! Long may it live on
I have many fond memories eating at Perrys. The service was always great and the food was delicious. Perry’s is the place for clams! It was a sad day when they tore it down to put up a Shaws.
Finally some good news…
TJ and I keep saying we’re going to make it down to your place in Searsport Joey to have some of Perry’s famous clams–we’ll see you some day soon to do just that! It was nice to see you on the BDN site!
First he has to actually take you out on a date. Some guys just don’t know what they have.
Loved the macaroni tomato soup… Miss that too
Paul Neligan made an awesome cheese omelet too. I always enjoyed Perry’s. Too bad Shaw’s kicked out the ole neighborhood businesses.
They kicked out no one. They sold it for a nice gain to SHAWS. If eveyone that says they just used to love the place and go get the clams there all the time actually did, they never would have sold out. IMHO.
Actually, there was no choice in the matter….the whole block was taken via eminent domain.
I remember Perry’s, and I eat regularly at The Brick House. I still can’t resist those clams! In addition, the BH menu offers many delicious choices! I just love it there, and I love Joey and MaryBeth!
Oh my. I spent a fair amount of time at Perry as a youngster and continued to stop in as a young man.I remember Joe and Martha helping out and I especially remember the Fried clams. I will be making the trip from Surry very soon to have a mess these.
My daughter acquired her taste for clams at Perry’s in Bangor when she was 10. Her father and I would take her there every other Friday night and for a long time she would order a hamburger, and finally one night she wanted to try our clams. From that moment on she was hooked. Now she will even go rake for clams for a good feed on the 4th of July and any and all birthdays. She and I were saddened when they closed- we had such good memories of that place. Now we must try to get to Searsport to get some clams!!! Great news!!!
I know where I will be going soon yummy!!