On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

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As the ground breaking for the new IKEA store ushers in the new Assembly Square area and Somerville into a new and exciting era, let’s reflect back to great times gone by. 

The Assembly Square Mall opened in 1980 – the next thing you knew, things were in full swing. One of the hot spots in the mall was a trendy restaurant called Dapper Dan’s. On the site of the old Ford Motor plant, diners and revelers from the greater Boston area were gunning their engines at DD’s, in their Tello’s best.

I was thrilled to see the former owner and namesake of that great establishment, Danny Kallis earlier this year at Gene Brune’s annual scholarship breakfast. I’m glad he gave me his business card, because we had lost contact over the years (I did bump into him once at Stop and Shop about 10 years ago). We had a nice little chat about the good old days – it seemed like this was the perfect opportunity to do piece on Dapper Dan’s, as the Assembly Square area goes through this extensive transformation.    

I left Danny a voice message last week, explaining that I wanted to do an article on Dappers – we caught up on the phone shortly thereafter. He then sent me an e-mail saying his wife Denise (Racicot) could really fill in the blanks about the old days of DD’s.  Denise was the hostess at night while Kay O’Neil did the honors during the day. Denise was one of my sister Christine’s best friends and the entire Racicot family holds a special place in my life, as we go way, way back.

Dan’s father Peter had previously owned The Rosebud and The Coronet in Davis Square, so he was no stranger to the business. My father and Peter were also friends.

Dapper Dan’s opened in October of 1981, when ‚ÄúBette Davis Eyes‚Äù and ‚ÄúCelebration‚Äù were the hot tunes on the radio. People from all over greater Boston came to Dapper Dan’s to enjoy the onion soup, London broil, clams casino and prime rib beneath DD’s clear skylight. The real fun was when the late night appetizer menu came out, along with the true fun seekers.

In The 90’s I was flying high as Matt Siegel’s funny songwriter and voice character guy. Dapper Dan’s used to advertise on Kiss 108, so the sales people would give us free meal vouchers. A lot of Kiss people frequented DD’s and it became a home away from home for us.

Karaoke was very hot back then and I got together with a fellow from Southie named Bill Kelly. We did shows at DD’s for quite a while and let me tell you we had a blast. Little Elvis and Jimmy Ammo also threw their talent into the mix. At the time I was billed as ‚ÄúJohnny C‚Äù because I got to advertise the gig, free every Friday on the Matty show. We were very spoiled and often took limousines to the gig. We were all living the life! ‚ÄúShe Drives Me Crazy‚Äù was one of the big Karaoke numbers for Bill, and I did a pretty fair ‚ÄúMack The Knife.‚Äù Denise still has lots of pictures of those magical days, as well as an authentic Dapper Dan’s sign in their home in Medford.

Forgive us if we leave anyone out, but you know what the years can do to the old memory. Vikki Cooper manned the Keno machine back then, and some of the waitresses were Peggy McMillan, Kathy Mazzeo, Dottie, Shelia Costa, Missy Flynn and Cheryl. I still see Shirley who works at the CVS in Magoun Square. The bartenders were Lois, Greta and Camille – who is Mario Cantone’s (Sex and the City) sister. Denise remembers Mario coming in DD’s and doing a very funny impersonation of Tammy Faye Baker.

Yvonne (Racicot) & George Kallis were managers and so was George Halaris! Most all the bartenders – Patty Matos, John Gobiel, Barry Cusick, and Brian Halpern all stayed with DD’s for many years. It was quite a crew, and quite an era.

Danny admits that he misses the business, so I suggested we look for a joint to turn into the Dapper Dan’s of the 21st century. I’d be willing to get a second (or third) mortgage to get in on that deal. I mentioned that Denise still has a DD sign – and who would have ever thought that Karaoke would still be alive! I also happen to know that Little Elvis (Joey Goodwin) is up for putting the sequined suit back on.

Dapper Dan’s was the premiere meeting spot for Somervillians, right up to when it closed in May of 1996. Danny and Denise live locally with their son Peter, 19 and daughter Demitra, 17. Back in those days, we were all kids having the time of our lives. For me, catching up on the old days with Danny and Denise was good for the soul.

So as this exciting new era emerges, a lot of us will still think of Dapper Dan’s, and those magical 90’s when someone mentions Assembly Square. I’m pretty sure I still have my Member’s Only jacket hanging in my closet.

Please e-mail your comments to Jimmy at: jimmydel@rcn.com