Manufacturer: McNicol China Company
User: Marty's Lobster House
Distributor: I. M. Seney Company – Baltimore
Date of plate: Unknown

Menu from Marty's Lobster House

Advertisement placed by Marty's Lobster House in the Ledger-Star Newspaper on June 26, 1950

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Notes: Marty's Lobster House was located at 33^rd and Atlantic Avenue in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was opened by Constantine Marty in 1945. According to a legal notice published in The Virginia-Pilot on March 14, 1956, Constantine sold his interest in the restaurant to his remaining partners Chris Nikiforos and John Paphites on March 12, 1956.

At some point in the mid 1950s, John Paphites and his wife Della became the sole owners and turned it into one of the first upscale restaurants in Virginia Beach. An article in Historic Hampton Roads – Where America Began says, "It was the sort of restaurant where the men were expected to wear a dress coat and it wasn't uncommon to find … Johnny and Della Paphites joining you for dinner."

Again from the Historic Hampton Roads article, "The Paphites owned and operated Marty's Lobster House until 1977 and turned it into one of the hottest spots on the beach. The restaurant attracted local residents, as well as tourists, with its prime location, elegance and incredible dinners. All of the customers had one thing in common; they would return for another great meal."

White body plate, a dark green airbrushed border covering most of the outer rim on the left and right sides of the plate. At the top of the rim is the stenciled airbrushed word "Marty's" in burgundy red in capital block letters. At the bottom of the rim is a stenciled airbrushed drawing of a lobster also in burgundy red.

Sources:
Ledger-Star Newspaper, June 1950 – ad
The Virginia-Pilot, March 1956 – legal notice on sale of restaurant
Historic Hampton Roads – Where America Began – page 192-3, history of the restaurant

Contributors:
Plate photos and research: Susan Phillips
Author: Ed Phillips