Iconic Taunton Restaurant To Be Sold At Auction

Patrons were shocked last May to learn that Benjamin's in Taunton would be closing it's doors. And now the iconic restaurant will be sold at auction.

Today the property will be up for bid and for the first time in nearly 50 years, someone other than the Benjamin family could own the two-floor, 25,000-square-foot building.

According to the Taunton Gazette, restaurant patriarch George Benjamin died in 2013 and left the restaurant to his wife Diane Benjamin. Over the last few years she struggled to keep things afloat and ended up with nearly $250,000 in debt.

The iconic eatery was foreclosed on in May and in July the property was signed over the the bank.

Now Mechanics Cooperative Bank is putting Benjamin's on the auction block and interested parties will start the bidding at 11a.m. this morning. The property is on 3.25 acres of land, with 215 parking spaces with frontage on three different streets, and enough room in the restaurant for 450 seats.

After about half a century as a go-to place for a semi-formal dinner, a family celebration, a business gathering or community functions, who knows what Benjamin's will become next.