A long-vacant site in Morris County where tens of thousands of families gathered for Thanksgiving dinners over six decades may finally be making a comeback.
Larison’s Turkey Farm Inn served its last meal 20 years ago before being briefly revived under two different names and permanently closing in 2009.
While the latest redevelopment plan would not revive the Chester Borough restaurant, the early 19th Century house that evolved into a beloved dining hall would be preserved as a country farm market with a deli and outdoor dining operated by nearby Alstede Farms, officials said.
As part of the plan, a Chick-Fil-A restaurant, 66 townhouses and 24 affordable housing units would be built on the 25-acre site, officials said.
A sign near the former restaurant describes it as the “future home of Alstede Fresh at Larison’s Corner.”
“We’re delighted that our family can continue the tradition,” said Mary Alstede, who owns Alstede Farms with her husband, Kurt Alstede.
Global Acquisitions Company LLC acquired the site in October 2020.
Robert Berlant, managing member of Global Acquisitions Company LLC, said Chick-fil-A is “friendly, family-oriented” and a natural successor to Larison’s despite being a fast-food restaurant.
“What’s the difference between turkey and chicken? They’re both poultry,” Berlant said Tuesday.
“Chick-fil-A draws people from all over,” Berlant said.
It is the latest in a series of proposals for the Larison’s site. A bank was discussed a quarter-century ago as the restaurant was struggling to survive, officials said previously.
Wawa was floated as a possibility in 2023, a year after the former restaurant was put on the market — in a listing that no longer appears active — for $3 million.
The latest plan took a big step forward in February when the Chester Borough Council moved forward with a settlement agreement substituting the plan for a similar redevelopment proposal in 2018 involving a CVS and medical office building.
It awaits other approvals, including a review by the borough’s Land Use Board, the council said at that time.
Mayor Janet Hoven said she did not know a timeframe for when the project might proceed when contacted by NJ Advance Media.
Larison’s opened in 1945, months after the end of World War II. It was named for a local couple, Ruth and Willis Larison, who converted the house into a restaurant and ran it for three decades.
Around 125 customers were served for the restaurant’s first Thanksgiving, according to a 1983 pamphlet from Larison’s obtained by the Chester Historical Society. As the restaurant’s renown spread, a Thanksgiving crowd of 1,800 was the norm.
Families would wait two hours or longer for seats along the long tables inside Larison’s with children passing the time by running around outside and feeding the turkeys, Berlant said in 2024.
By the 1990s, though, it was becoming apparent that restaurant was losing some of its lure. The first redevelopment plan in 2000 involved moving or demolishing the restaurant and building a CVS and bank.
Berlant, 60, said he was introduced to Larison’s as a child and continued visiting as an adult.
“The objective is to keep the building looking like it has for the past 200 years,” Berlant said.
“It would be a sin to demolish that and put a little bank on the corner,” he said.
Under the plan, Alstede Farms would reactivate farmland at the site in order to grow fruits, vegetables and flowers. Adirondack chairs would be placed outside, in another throwback to Larison’s.
“We’re really excited to be restoring some of that history to Chester,” Kurt Alstede said Monday.
Alstede said it might take a while for the plan to gain final approval and that he tells people his store might not open for several years.
“I’m probably asked three times a day, hey, what’s going on. All the parties are committed to seeing it get across the finish line,” Alstede said.
