Note Type
Historical NoteNote
Patricia Murphy 1905-1979
Patricia Murphy was born and raised in a small fishing village in Newfoundland. In 1928, she would make her way to New York City. With $60 in a savings account, Patricia invested in a little basement in Brooklyn. This basement would become her first Candlelight Restaurant which netted $50 a day during the Great Depression. The success she had with her Brooklyn restaurant allowed for Patricia to start looking elsewhere, expansion always on her mind. It would lead her to opening a Candlelight Restaurant in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Manhasset, Long Island, Yonkers, Westchester, Deerfield Beach, and Fort Lauderdale.
Patricia Murphy was the proprietor, creative mind, hostess, and landscaper of Patricia Murphy’s Candlelight Restaurant. Patricia Murphy built herself into a brand. She leased the restaurant at Bahia Mar from the city and spent around $800,000 renovating and landscaping it. Shortly after construction began, Patricia Murphy’s Corporation sold its shares to an investment group, the group taking over the lease of the marina. However, the restaurant continued to operate as Patricia Murphy’s’ Candlelight Restaurant and Patricia would remain involved with its running for more than a decade before fully retiring by 1977.