NICK AND MARY MATHEWS OF YORKTOWN A Legacy of ‘Patrons & Patriots’

Nick and Mary Mathews were married in July 1942, later moving to Yorktown, where they opened a lunch counter in 1944 that became Nick's Seafood Pavilion. Honoring their legacy, a new exhibition, “Patrons & Patriots: The Legacy of Nick and Mary Mathews,” will open March 8, 2025, at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. Images from the JamestownYorktown Foundation.

In March 2025, a special exhibition at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown will honor Nick and Mary Mathews’s lifetime of philanthropy and civic duty, a manifestation of their American patriotism. Both Nick and Mary were immigrants from Greece who met in New York City and married in July 1942. After moving to Yorktown, they opened a lunch counter in 1944, borrowing the money to finance the enterprise that grew into a favorite destination for locals and tourists visiting the Yorktown Battlefield. Over time, the eatery expanded to a 450-seat restaurant, Nick’s Seafood Pavilion, which gained a national and international reputation, attracting celebrities, military, dignitaries, and heads of state. As the restaurant prospered, the couple became generous philanthropists, giving back to the community and nation they had adopted as their own.

Yorktown Victory Center, one of three bicentennial centers in Virginia that opened to the public in 1976. For over 50 years, millions of visitors have benefited from the legacy of the generous gift, first at the Yorktown Victory Center and then at the new and expanded American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, which offers the opportunity to learn about the ideals and freedoms of the American Revolution as well as the significance of the Siege of Yorktown to secure American independence.

It is one of many examples of the couple’s generous philanthropy with local, national, and international impact. They were passionate about the ideals underscoring American democracy and the freedom won at Yorktown. Nick became an American citizen and, when speaking of his adopted hometown, remarked, “I want to be an American, so what better place to live than where independence was won!”

The restaurant was known for its ambience, opulent décor and Nick’s signature dish — Lobster Dien Bien — but, above all, for the hospitality of its owners. Given its proximity to the U.S. Naval Weapons and Coast Guard stations, Nick’s Seafood Pavilion was a popular destination for the military. Military personnel dining at the restaurant in uniform often received a meal on the house.

In recognition of her patriotism, Mary Mathews was selected by the American government to sponsor a U.S. warship, the U.S.S. Yorktown, CG-48. A Ticonderoga-class missile cruiser, Mary Mathews christened the warship on April 16, 1983, at Pascagoula, Mississippi, soon after Nick’s death. She was the first Greek American to do so. They were loyal benefactors to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, making many contributions over the years for exhibitions and programs. Among many others who benefited from their generosity were hospitals, civic organizations, churches, and even the Statue of Liberty restoration project in the 1980s.

Today, the Mathews’s legacy endures through the educational programming delivered at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, supported in part through the endowment of their personal estate to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation Educational Trust. Inspired by their benevolence, JYF created the Mathews Legacy Society to honor this tradition of planned giving.

The motivation behind Nick and Mary Mathews’s philanthropy was expressed by Mary in her will:

“Whatever we earned in our lifetime, we return it gladly to the people who made it possible for us to succeed in addition to our hard and honest work. May God bless you all.”

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Sarah Bevan Meschutt, Ph.D., Senior Curator — Jane Hohensee, Senior Registrar