Yacht Club Owners Named Restaurateur of the Year

Officially recognized as a cut above the rest, in a manner of speaking, the DeLorenzos were recently honored with a Restaurateur of the Year award by the Massachusetts Restaurant Association (MRA) for their family owned and operated hotspot on the Danvers waterfront – the . The family is also celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

The top billing was actually one of three prestigious awards the family received last month from restaurant and wedding industry organizations. Weddingwire.com recognized the facility in the top 5 percent of local wedding vendors with the 2011 Brides Choice Award, and the yacht club was also selected as a 2011 winner in The Knot Best of Weddings (www.theknot.com).

“What a great way to start 2011,” said the club’s general manager Paul DeLorenzo in a press release.

“The award for Restaurant of the Year is especially gratifying because our family works very hard to make Danversport the best of the best. The two wedding awards are just wonderful – to know that our previous clients have voted us into these two distinguished categories is an awesome feeling. It tells us that we did our job and we did it well,” DeLorenzo said.

The yacht club, nestled off Elliott Street, boasts a restaurant, function hall, wedding facility and marina, spanning over 19 acres on a peninsula. It can accommodate up to 650 guests at once and hosts many a local function or fundraiser throughout the year, from charity cook-offs and other fundraisers to bridal expos.

DeLorenzo shared a few anecdotes of the family’s 40 years in business in a video shown during the presentation of the Restaurateur of the Year award at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel. The video is posted on You Tube and you can watch it here.

DeLorenzo said his father originally constructed the facility with discarded bricks from a block plant his two brothers operated. DeLorenzo added that four of his five siblings still run the yacht club with him today in various capacities; their parents are happily retired.

The yacht club has been included in The Knot Best of Weddings guide of top wedding professionals across the country three times before: 2007, 2008 and 2009. The MRA is a statewide trade association representing the food and beverage industry.

For more information on the Danversport Yacht Club, visit the Web site, or check out the blog. You can also follow along on Facebook.