Duncan’s Dairy Bar Celebrates 80 Years
By Doug La Rocque
Opened in the spring of 1939 by John Duncan and his wife Ruth, the venerable Brunswick eatery started out as ice cream parlor, with the Duncan’s expanding their dining room sometime in the 1950’s to serve breakfast and lunch. Their grandson, John Squadrito, who now owns the establishment, has since expanded the menu and offers dinner most night as well.
And while somethings in the restaurant business most evolve with time, there are those things that are best left untouched. One of those are Ruth’s original recipes for homemade breads, rolls and pies Recipes that have been passed on to John, and to this day, are still one of the restaurant’s biggest draws.
Through these 80 years, the Hoosick Road establishment has seen many famous faces pull up a stool to dine, and probably the most frequent was the late New York Yankee legend and baseball Hall of Famer Phil (Scooter) Rizzuto. The Scooter would often stop by on his upstate trips to visit his daughter and spend many an hour regaling the clientele with his collection of baseball stories.
In a conversation with The Eastwick Press late last year, John was asked what he hopes lies in store for Duncan’s in the future, and he answered, ‘I hope I’m around here for another 20 years, to celebrate 100 years of Duncan’s” As the Scooter would say. “Holy Cow.”