Gilda’s Daughter Boycotting 100th Birthday Celebration at Marion Bar

We told you last week about the planned 100th birthday celebration in honor of the former owner of Gilda's Stone Rooster, Gilda Pietragalla Downey, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 98.

The bar, which was run by Downey for decades on the Marion/Wareham line, was sold and razed. In its place is The River Junction, which is throwing the party to honor what would have been Downey's 100th birthday.

"Anyone who knew Gilda knew that she loved a celebration, especially one in her honor," owner John Mello said at the time. "It'll be very Gilda-esque. We're going to drink champagne, listen to jazz, tell fun stories and wear fun glasses. Hopefully, somebody wears some tights with a skull and crossbones on them."

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However, Toni Monty, Downey's daughter, is less than thrilled about the idea, saying it's a "total insult." In a Facebook comment under the 100th birthday article, she called for a boycott of the party.

Monty claims the owners of The River Junction did not have her "permission" to use her mother's or the Stone Rooster names.

"After the way she was treated they have a lot of (expletive) to do this," Monty told Fun 107. "We do not see eye to eye and I never expect to. It came directly from my mother. She said she would not step foot in that place once she left there."

READ MORE: The River Junction Plans 100th Birthday Party In Honor of Gilda Downey

Monty accused the new ownership of pushing out her mother on bad terms. "It's not like (the owners) didn't know how my mother felt about them," she said.

River Junction Owner and Gilda's Daughter Don't See Eye to Eye

Mello said he was "pretty deflated" after getting a fiery text from Monty over the weekend.

"She said we mistreated her, but there are screenshots of her on Facebook saying that we were going above and beyond (to keep Gilda involved). This was when Gilda was moving out. So, somehow we mistreated her after she left? It doesn't make sense."

Mello said after seeing some inaccurate statements from Monty online he spent the better part of Sunday trying to get her to have a conversation with him on the phone, but she refused.

"I asked her, 'What do you have to lose besides potentially being upset?' But she just refused to speak to me and said that there was nothing I could do to make her feel better."

River Junction and Use of the 'Stone Rooster' Name

One of Monty's big contentions is that The River Junction is using Downey's name and that of her beloved bar without permission.

Mello said that's not true.

"We don't have Toni Monty's permission to use the Stone Rooster name, but she never owned it," he said. "Gilda owned it and Gilda sold it to us. We have a contract for the use of the name."

Where the Money From Gilda Downey's 100th Party Is Going

Mello said he brought up an idea to Monty of launching a scholarship in her mother's name.

"It would be for a jazz student who is a graduating senior," Mello said.

Gilda's Stone Rooster was a popular performance venue for jazz musicians over the years. Downey was the heart of the operation, tending bar and greeting old and new customers with a sparkle in her eye well into her 90s.

"I spoke about it today with ORR's principal," Mello said of the scholarship.  "We're not trying to make money on the Gilda party.  We're donating all this money to scholarship funds and the Friends of Old Rochester Music."