Patricia Murphy's Candelight Restaurant
Postcard from Patricia Murphy's Candlelight Restaurant in Yonkers, NY 
2019 Google Streetview photo of the restuarant that now stands where Patricia Murphy's Candelight Restaurant's Yonkers location was
First page of a 1951 dinner menu from Patricia Murphy's Candlelight Restaurant in Yonkers, NY 
News article by Patricia Murphy, the restauranteur who opened Patricia Murphy's Candlelight Restaurants
Known Name(s)
Patricia Murphy's Candelight Restaurant
Address
Central Ave. Yonkers, NY (Primary) (1963, 1964, 1966)1703 Central Park Ave Yonkers, NY (Secondary)
Establishment Type(s)
Restaurant
Physical Status
Demolished
Description
Patricia Murphy’s Candlelight Restaurant was a large two-story commercial building that sat on about 10-acres and resembled a nineteenth-century inn. The land around the restaurant was covered in gardens, ponds, and greenhouses. The main building was comprised of two parts, a smaller one-story section to the side with the larger two-story structure centered on the property. Both parts had bays of large windows looking out onto the pond and parking lot. Both roofs were gabled, but with a very gradual slope. The larger part had a two-story porch with decorative railings and outside seating areas. The restaurant had three chimneys, one coming out of the smaller part of the building and two out of the larger. The building was often well-lit and well decorated with its award winning floral arrangements.
Detailed History
After years of rapid expansion, restaurateur Patricia Murphy opened the Yonkers location of her popular Candlelight Restaurant chain around 1954. Earlier locations were in Brooklyn and Long Island. During the decades it was open, a variety of local events, like luncheons and weddings, were held at the restaurant. The well-groomed gardens won several local gardening awards. The restaurant closed in 1979 and was destroyed soon after as the area expanded. As of 2023, the lot is home to a strip mall. A plethora of souvenirs from the restaurant’s gift shop still exist and provide a glimpse into the experience of eating at Patricia Murphy’s Candlelight Restaurant.
