The landmark Mortensen’s Restaurant on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington will close at the end of the year and reopen as a smaller ice cream shop.
Rod Mortensen, of Mortensen’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Shoppe, said the family is “going back to their dairy roots” by closing the restaurant on December 31 and re-opening as an ice cream shop around April next year.
The restaurant portion of the venue will become a Moe’s Southwest Grille & Restaurant.
Mortensen’s has been known for its dairy products for almost 100 years, starting when Elmer Mortensen delivered milk by horse and wagon in Hartford, according to a news release from the company.
The restaurant has been a Berlin Turnpike landmark since 1940.
The Mortensen family does not view the closure as providing less business.
Rod Mortensen said they will “probably open a few more ice cream shops.”
The Mortensen family’s ice cream shop in Cromwell will stay open.
