Wash's Restaurant

Wash's Restaurant, later called Wash & Sons' Seafood Restaurant, Wash's Inn, and Wash's Catering, was an African-American family-owned and operated soul food restaurant that was in business for over 70 years, first in Atlantic City and then in Pleasantville, New Jersey. Established by Clifton and Alma Washington at 35 N. Kentucky Avenue, Atlantic City, in 1937, the original 20-seat location attained celebrity status for hosting the performers and patrons of the nightclubs in the Kentucky Avenue black entertainment district. The restaurant was known for its sausage sandwiches and soul food, and also served breakfast to customers leaving the 6 a.m. show at Club Harlem. In the 1950s Clifton Washington moved the restaurant a few blocks away to 1702 Arctic Avenue, where it was renamed Wash & Sons' Seafood Restaurant and specialized in seafood, barbecued ribs, and fried chicken. This larger venue, seating over 100, continued to attract both black and white nightclub guests and was also popular with black hotel employees leaving their shifts. Washington's children and grandchildren all worked in the restaurant from a young age, and those who married into the family were also put to work. With the commercial downturn in Atlantic City in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Wash's relocated to 128 N. New Road in Pleasantville in 1974. Renamed Wash's Inn and Wash's Catering, the business now focused on catering on-site events and also operated a small dining room, take-out deli, and bar. With the 1994 addition of a large catering hall, the facility hosted hundreds of private parties and community events. The family put the business up for sale in 2010 and closed it in 2012.