Easton Sidewalks: Mason’s Return on Harrison Street

In hindsight, it shouldn’t have been a shocker that the owners of Mason’s, a culinary “Rock of Gibraltar” in Easton since 1966, would put the family-owned business up for sale a few years ago. With most restaurants these days lasting about eighteen months, the decision for the family to sell the fifty-year-old dining establishment and retire seemed to follow the predictable lifecycle for any enterprise.

What wasn’t especially evident however was the motivation behind the new owners swapping out Mason’s time-tested business model for a high-end steakhouse with prices to match. Mason’s had not been sold because it was losing money. Its formula of excellent service and food in a perfect Eastern Shore setting had worked its wonders into making Mason’s one of the few restaurants in town that could count on a profit most years.

But, alas, this significant fact didn’t stop the new owners from re-branding the venue as a deluxe Chophouse, confidently thinking that area diners wouldn’t miss the original Mason’s. But they did, and that led to an early end to $50 steaks but also left one of the town’s most attractive restaurants sitting empty and lifeless.

It was, therefore, all the more exciting then for the Spy to learn that the mighty Mason’s will be getting a second life in a few months. Angel investors have come to the rescue of Easton’s “Grand Dame,” and plan to return both the name and its distinctive take on American cuisine to Harrison Street this Fall.

More details will be forthcoming on its grand opening date but needless to say, Mason’s, like a great phoenix rising again, will once again be back in town soon enough.