After 91 years of operation, Lahiere’s closes doors

Established in 1919 by Joseph and Mary Louise Christen, Lahiere’s was a family business carried on by their descendants. The current owners were the third generation to manage the restaurant.

Jill Christen confirmed rumors of the restaurant’s closing in a comment posted to princetoninfo.com earlier this month.

“In [closing Lahiere’s] it enables our own children to become whoever they wish to be in a place they choose to be,” she said.

“It’s very bittersweet for my family,” Joe Christen told The Princeton Packet on Thursday. “It’s the right move for my family, and we’re happy with that. We had a good opportunity, so we thought we’d take advantage of it.” The Christens could not be reached for comment for this article.

The restaurant originally served French food, but in recent years it expanded to include contemporary American cuisine, pricing entrees between $20 and $40. Joe Christen told the Packet that the family will likely take an entirely different direction for its next business.

Throughout its nearly century-long history, Lahiere’s touched the lives of many on campus.

Philosophy professor emeritus Paul Benacerraf ’53 GS ’60 has eaten at Lahiere’s for the last 60 years. His department has hosted many dinners at the restaurant, and he had hoped to take his daughter to lunch at Lahiere’s for her graduation this June, he said in an e-mail.

Benacerraf cited the restaurant’s world-class wine cellar, noting that “it was for decades the only restaurant in the area with any sophistication.”

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Alexandra Maguire ’11 recently visited Lahiere’s with her grandparents for her birthday and said that “they’ve been going there for years.” She noted the restaurant’s popularity with students looking for a place to take their dates, saying that Lahiere’s was “a key place for a really nice night.”

Roger Martindell had his first date at the restaurant in 1966, when he was 16 and his date a year older. He chose Lahiere’s — and forgot his wallet.

“When it came time to pay, I had no money. Mr. Christian, the owner, knew who I was and was generous enough not to insist that I wash dishes that night. He allowed me to return the next day with the payment,” Martindell said in an e-mail, adding that he will most miss the “cozy and campy” feeling of the restaurant.

“It’s too bad ... because it’s a great restaurant and part of Princeton’s history,” Maguire said of the restaurant’s closing.

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For Peter Eichler ’08, Lahiere’s was more than just a nice restaurant. After receiving a bad room-draw time before his junior year, Eichler and Grant Gittlin ’08 arranged to live in an apartment above the restaurant. Though Gittlin moved out after a year, “I stayed there by myself my senior year because I loved it,” Eichler said.

Eichler ate at the restaurant at least every other week, he said, noting that he “had a great relationship with the owners.”

Lahiere’s was “my favorite place in Princeton,” Eichler added. “It’s sad to hear, because now when I go back to Princeton, I won’t be able to eat there.”

Though he was “sad to see it go,” Benacerraf said that “gastronomically speaking, its disappearance is less of a calamity than it would have been 20 or 30 years ago, when there were far fewer acceptable alternatives.”

The restaurant’s name was derived from the maiden name of Mary Louise Christen, who emigrated from France in 1915. Soon after beginning work as a maid in New York, she married Joseph Christen, an immigrant from Switzerland who also worked in one of the city’s hotels. They moved to Princeton and opened the restaurant with Mary Louise’s two brothers.

The Christens’ son Leon, who graduated from Princeton with a mechanical engineering degree in 1949, later took over the family business after working in insurance. His son, Joe Christen, followed in his footsteps when he began managing Lahiere’s in 1987.

Joe and Jill Christen have two daughters who will not carry on the family tradition.

Throughout its long history, Lahiere’s was patronized by many famous figures, including Paul Newman, Donald Sutherland, King Hussein of Jordan, John Chancellor, Bob Hope and Reggie White.

It is still unclear what will replace Lahiere’s. ML Seven Witherspoon’s president Jeff Siegel, however, told the Packet that the company plans to house another restaurant in the space. The apartments above the restaurant’s old space will remain as they are.

The building that housed Lahiere’s at 5–11 Witherspoon St. is valued at approximately $3.6 million. The amount the Christens sold their space for was not disclosed.