The unsung legacy of Nick and Mary Mathews.
When Nick and Mary Mathews met for the first time in 1940, they’d both arrived in Brooklyn from Greece—Nick from the island of Karpathos and Mary, a decade later, from Sparta. Marrying soon after, neither of them could have fathomed the indelible mark they’d make on America’s Revolutionary history, or a waterfront Virginia town they’d never heard of.
After they wed, the couple stopped in Yorktown on a road trip. They looked around the birthplace of American independence and decided it was a fitting place to settle. They borrowed money from friends and opened a lunch counter in a rundown building near the York River ferry landing—now the Coleman Bridge. Customers, mostly sailors from a nearby naval base, would come for the seafood lunches.
Business flourished, boosted by the Rockefeller-funded Colonial Williamsburg. By 1952 the Mathews had saved enough money to demolish the lunch counter and build Nick’s Seafood Pavilion. The 100-seat restaurant would become legendary. By 1972, they expanded again, adding a grand lobby and two more dining rooms to seat 450.
Locals and tourists flocked to Nick’s for the Lobster Dien Bien, seafood kabobs, baked Alaska, and coconut pie, served amid the more-is-more décor with its marble statuary, gilt-framed paintings, plastic grapes, and a waitstaff outfitted in Greek costumes—all under enormous crystal chandeliers. Beyond the food, customers came for Mister Nick and Miss Mary, as everyone called them. With no children of their own, the Mathews embraced Yorktown as family.
“I don’t think any Virginian, especially an elected official, can go long without eating at Nick’s,” Governor John Dalton observed, wryly, years later. He was right. Presidents, governors from all 50 states, and celebrities—John Wayne, Tony Bennett, Pierce Brosnan, and Senator John Warner and his wife, Elizabeth Taylor—all dined at Nick’s.
Their 18-hour workdays rewarded them with a comfortable living, and by the 1970s the Mathews had accumulated substantial wealth. So they gave back, in small ways at first—comping meals to military service members, stepping in to pay a disputed town light bill. They’d earned seats on the Yorktown Board of Trustees and a directorship of a local bank. And over a period of years, they quietly purchased half of Yorktown’s private land, in an effort to protect it from predatory developers and preserve its historic character.
As the Revolutionary War’s bicentennial approached in 1981, the couple spearheaded the creation of the sprawling Yorktown Victory Center, now known as the American Revolution Museum. They’d gifted the 23-acre property the museum stands on, valued at about $5 million in today’s dollars. When Yorktown demurred at their proposal to build a granite monument on the waterfront to commemorate the historic occasion, the Mathews paid for it themselves, to the tune of $180,000—then presided with then-President Ronald Reagan and other dignitaries like François Mitterrand who’d come to Yorktown to celebrate the occasion.
Mary Mathews was also the first immigrant to christen a U.S. Navy ship, the USS Yorktown. Officially the ship’s sponsor, she shared the honor with President Reagan on April 14, 1983. But the moment was bittersweet; Mathews was standing in for her husband, who’d died on the plane bound for the Mississippi ceremony. She doted on the ship’s soldiers and they loved her back, naming the helicopter aboard the aircraft carrier the Miss Mary.
Back in Virginia, the couple further donated a 10-bedroom house to provide office space for the Yorktown Board of Trustees and the waterfront Riverwalk Landing property. With these gifts, the Mathews erased their own legacy, putting the country they loved ahead of themselves.
Today, at the York River’s edge, just beyond the shops and restaurants of Yorktown’s Riverwalk Landing, stands an unassuming plaque dedicated to Nick and Mary Mathews and commemorating the gifts of the patriotic couple from Greece. Among them, the museum that tells the story of the American Revolution. It’s easy to miss. But, without them, this historic town—and our experience of American history—would look nothing like it does today.
Nick’s Seafood Pavilion: Lobster Dien Bien
A signature dish at Nick’s Seafood Pavilion in Yorktown, this recipe conjures fond memories.
- 2 lbs. lobster meat
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 stick butter
- ½ cup scallions chopped
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1¼ cups fresh mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup rice
- 1½ cups chicken consomme
- 3 ripe tomatoes
Cook lobster in salted water until done* and cut into chunks. Melt half stick butter in large Dutch over until it starts to brown. Add lobster meat and brown slightly. Add scallions, mushrooms, pepper, tomatoes, and rice. Stir to loosen rice and add consomme until rice is covered. Cover and cook for 25 minutes or until rice is done. When cooked, brown remaining butter in a separate sauce pan and pour over rice. Stir once to combine and serve.
*Depending on their size, lobsters will take 7-14 minutes to boil. For a 1 lb. lobster, boil 7 to 10 minutes; 8-12 minutes for a 1 1/4 lb. lobster; and 10-14 minutes for a 1 1/2 lb. lobster. Add 2 minutes for every additional 1/2 pound. The lobsters should be a bright vivid red color when done.
This article originally appeared in the August 2023 issue.
