An iconic banquet hall on Rt. 6 in Swansea is closing its door and is up for sale with an asking price of $4.75 million.

The Venus de Milo in Swansea is closing due to the “expected long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses,” owner Monte Ferris said in a statement on Monday. Monte said the pandemic only served to hasten his planned retirement.

The family-run business was launched in 1959 as a bowling alley but transitioned into a restaurant and banquet facility. Ferris said he had worked at the Venus de Milo since he was 10 or 11 years old, and that the venue was his life.

Those who appreciate the Venus de Milo's signature dishes need not fret. Dishes including baked stuffed lobster, clam chowder, and minestrone soup will be available through a new takeout business called Venus Foods. The takeout business, for now, will operate out of Jillian's Sports Pub & Grill on Rt. 103 in Somerset.

Ferris said deposits taken for banquets, weddings and other events will be refunded immediately, and that gift certificates will be honored at Jillian's.

The real estate listing at MG Commercial describes the seven-acre property with a 60,000 square-foot restaurant and catering facility as having potential for a "redevelopment of the existing building or a flat, waterfront site for a residential or retail project."

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