Once again history is being made and Louie's restaurant, the oldest restaurant in Port Washington, has been sold ending nearly 100-years of ownership by the Zwerlein Family. Louie's Shore Restaurant has been located at 395 Main Street since 1932 but the family business, started by Louie Zwerlein, great-grandfather of the current owner Jay Zwerlein, has been on Manhasset Bay since 1905.

Sitting on the waterfront with unrivaled views of Manhasset Bay, Louie's boasts three dining rooms, two bars and a dock, which can accommodate up to 35 boats for water-borne customers. In the winter, wood paneling and two fireplaces give Louie's a cozy warmth against the changeable elements outside and during the summer customers enjoy one of the best views in town. Inside, customers' fishing trophies, yachting pennants, model ships, boating lamps, fishing rods and other curios meld together creating a nautical theme. One very impressive fishing trophy, a 115-pound Tarpin caught by Jay Zwerlein's Aunt Diane in Florida, was a record catch in its day. Photographs and memorabilia, collected over several decades, are a unique witness to the history of life in Port Washington and on Manhasset Bay. Photographs of customers old and new huddle together on the bar walls; some are famous such as the cast from The Sopranos, and others are homespun regulars such as "Doc" Bayles, of Bayles Drug Store, proudly pictured with the 765 pound tuna he caught in 1964.

Current owner Jay is very sad to see the business go but circumstances have forced him to sell. He had hoped one of his four children, who have all worked in the business at one time or another, would inherit the business as he did and his father before him, but they are all set on other career paths.

It started when Louie Zwerlein came to America from Germany and in 1905 opened an innovative business selling drinks from a barge anchored in the middle of Manhasset Bay. He named the barge the Carekiller, and according to reports, it was a very popular watering hole for the large population of clam diggers and fisherman working on the bay at that time. It had a piano on board and was especially popular with men who liked a little privacy with their pint since the Carekiller could only be reached by boat. The bar prospered until prohibition arrived and the new laws made it redundant in 1916.

Second generation Zwerlein, Louie, named after his father, decided to open a shop on the dock, where Sunset Park now stands and from here he rented out row boats and sold seafood snacks such as chowder, steamers and clams. In the early 1930's a change in local ordinance forced the business to close but as luck would have it, a new property became available when the North Hempstead Township evicted squatters. Louie II and family relocated their business in 1932, to what had been a boathouse for the home across the street and Louie's started a new era at 395 Main Street.

Gordon and Dick Zwerlein were the third generation to join the business, selling clams outside their father's shop for a penny-apiece. In 1954, the property attached to Louie's was put up for sale by two sisters, one a teacher and one a nun, who had been running a bar restaurant. It was named "The Horseshoe" as it had previously been a blacksmith's, and naturally the Zwerlein family snapped it up, extending Louie's into the property we are familiar with today.

Jay and Raymond Zwerlein, were the fourth and now the last generation to take over from their father, Gordon. Jay Zwerlein remembers starting in the business when he was just 11 years old cleaning the rental boats and preparing bait to sell to the fishermen. He joined the business full-time in his early 20s and has been there ever since. The boat rental business ended about 20 years ago when insurance costs rose steeply but little else appears to have changed.

The 1980s were possibly the restaurant's most popular time as Port Washington enjoyed the financial boom and people traveled from Manhattan to try a taste of Louie's. Louie's has played host to more than a few celebrities over the years and Virginia Wade, Robert Wagner, Frank Sinatra and Barbara Streisand are just a few of many who have enjoyed Louie's charms. Jay is proud of a menu autographed by comedian Bob Hope after he and his wife Dolores dined in Louie's private room. Referring to the huge popularity of those times, Mr. Zwerlein said, "I don't know what it was, in our heyday a lot of customers came from the city, they seemed to want to come out to the countryside. Maybe the famous ones liked it because they were less likely to be recognized."

One celebrity, Robert De Niro, visited Louie's after attending a film premiere in Soundview about four years ago and returned a year later to film some scenes for a new project Meeting the Parents. Mr. Zwerlein doesn't know why they chose Louie's, as they didn't make use of the exceptional view, and the space was changed beyond recognition with a variety of studio props. A couple of those props remain; in the oak room a small sign advertises "hunting and fishing permits" while a much larger neon "Turf and Surf" sign hangs outside. When asked if he wished to keep the neon sign Mr. Zwerlein said "yeah, sure, why not?" but the sign, being only a prop, was never properly wired and Mr. Zwerlein would have to get special permits to light it, so it remains an unlit memory of the filming days.

Sadly any increased business due to the news of the filming did not do enough to keep Louie's in the Zwerlein family for another generation. In 2001 it was discovered that the long-standing structure is finally feeling the ravages of time and extensive building work is necessary to keep the building safe for the public. Mr. Zwerlein doesn't have the funds to finance such a huge operation, neither had he heart when around the same time, his brother and business partner, Raymond Zwerlein was diagnosed with cancer; Raymond died at the beginning of this year.

A restaurant owner from Manhasset has been interested in buying Louie's for several years but Mr. Zwerlein had refused to even consider selling; the changed circumstances saw the two sitting down to start negotiations. When news spread of the proposed sale, Mr. Zwerlein received offers from several other developers, but most were interested in putting up residential properties and Mr. Zwerlein couldn't bear to watch his family history demolished. They shook hands on a deal in November of last year and signed the contract shortly after Christmas.

The new owner has joined partners with a contractor from Sea Cliff to undertake the necessary construction work while he runs the restaurant. Mr. Zwerlein expects the new owners to start working with him sometime in March and construction to start in April. They do not intend to close the restaurant, even though part of their project is to relocate the kitchen, which currently has one of the best views. The first stage will be to relocate the bathrooms and renovate the patio room and be ready in time for Mother's Day in May. Mr. Zwerlein said, "they don't intend to close, but space will be lost due to the construction so we won't be booking any parties from April 8 through May 10.

While the new businessmen coming to Port Washington will be welcomed with open arms, it will be a sad day when Louie's doors close on a Zwerlein owner for the last time. Asked if he intended to have a farewell party Jay Zwerlein said, "I have considered it but I don't know any details yet."