Duchess (restaurant)

Duchess Worldwide, Inc., doing business as Duchess, is a privately owned and operated regional casual fast food restaurant chain that operates in southwestern Connecticut. Duchess was founded in 1956 by Harold and Jack Berkowitz in Bridgeport and based in Milford, Connecticut. There are 12 locations all in the Fairfield and New Haven counties of Connecticut. The restaurants feature an eat-in dining room, take-out service, and a drive-thru.^[2]

Duchess Worldwide, Inc.

Trade name	Duchess
Company type	Private
Industry	Fast food restaurants
Founded	1956; 69 years ago (1956) in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Founders	Harold Berkowitz Jack Berkowitz
Headquarters	Milford, Connecticut, United States
Number of locations	12
Area served	Connecticut
Key people	Michael Berkowitz (CEO) Gary Lavin (CFO) James Ferrell (COO)
Products	Hamburgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, wraps, salads, chicken sandwiches, fish sandwiches, breakfast, soups, french fries, desserts, soft drinks, milkshakes, smoothies, coffee
Revenue	$5 million[1]
Website	duchessrestaurants.com

History

In 1956, brothers and diner owners Jack and Harold Berkowitz bought a restaurant named Maraczi's that sold hotdogs and hamburgers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The brothers needed to put a name on the paperwork and they decided to name the restaurant after Dutchess County, New York, without the "T". After the renaming, the Duchess fast food chain began to expand operations. As of 2023,^[update] with the closing of Danbury's Mill Plain location,^[3] Duchess now has 12 locations in the Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut.^[4][5] Duchess has fresh produce, meat and poultry delivered daily.^[6]

Locations

Duchess has 12 locations and are found only in Connecticut:^[7]

Fairfield County

• Bridgeport
• Darien
• Fairfield (2)
• Monroe
• Norwalk
• Shelton
• Stratford

New Haven County

• Ansonia
• Milford
• Naugatuck
• Orange

See also

• Business and economics portal
• Connecticut portal
• Food portal

• List of fast food restaurant chains