DuMont Owner Colin Devlin Commits Suicide

By now you will have all seen the news. We were incredibly sad to read that DuMont founder Colin Devlin was found dead in Pennsylvania, having apparently killed himself with a gun in a car. According to reports, his businesses had been having financial difficulties and he was turned down for a loan while trying to open new restaurants after Dressler suddenly shut down over lease terms.

At one time, we were regulars at DuMont, back in the days when there weren’t many other restaurants like it in Williamsburg or Brooklyn, and its then out-of-the-way location made it seem like a neighborhood secret. We think it’s fair to say that DuMont (along with Diner) helped create not only the Brooklyn dining scene but Brooklyn style. It offered incredible value for the money in a low-key atmosphere with 19th century touches, such as the white-painted tin ceiling, Victorian tile floor, and dark wood work. A hormone-free half chicken was $12, and the appetizers and salads were always inventive and ever changing.

As The New York Times put it, “Friends and former co-workers described Mr. Devlin as a gregarious man with big, entrepreneurial ideas, who privately took the stresses of the restaurant business hard, especially amid the backdrop of a rapidly changing Williamsburg. Where once he had little competition and a winning formula — serving comfort food to Brooklyn scenesters — now there are dozens of new restaurants and far higher real estate prices.”

Williamsburg residents, patrons of the restaurants, friends, and famous food critics expressed their sorrow about the news online. “I loved DuMont, wrote about Dressler just after it opened in June 2006…Shocked by owner’s suicide,” tweeted Gael Greene. When Dressler closed, its website said two new restaurants were in the works. A reader emailed us to say Devlin planned to open in the old Anima spot at 458 Myrtle Avenue in Clinton Hill and may have already signed a lease. As far as we know, DuMont and DuMont Burger will continue on — there has been no word from the businesses one way or the other. We hope so.

Missing Brooklyn Restaurateur Found Dead [WSJ]
Photo by Free Williamsburg