A Watertown Original
You can only imagine what life was like in Watertown, New York in 1925 when the Crystal served its first meal. The lively city was a growing metropolis with plenty of jobs in the paper industry. The city, and the world around it, have certainly changed in the last 100 years — but amazingly, the Crystal has held on to its origins.
Step inside and you'll find original tile floors, tin ceilings, and one of the last stand-up bars in the country. The same Prohibition-era advertisement announcing "All Legal Beverages" can still be found in the front window, and a cash register from the 1930s — the one that once rang up Franklin Roosevelt's tab — still sits behind the counter.
The Dephtereos family has stewarded this restaurant for three generations, always with the belief that a good meal at a fair price should be available to everyone. Today, Peter Dephtereos, his wife Libby, and his brother Joe continue that tradition, inviting the public back in time to a simpler, graceful Watertown where everyone is family and all are welcome.
