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Private company

Duchess

Logo: Duchess Worldwide, Inc, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

American fast-food restaurant chain

Duchess Worldwide, Inc., doing business as Duchess, is a privately owned and operated regional casual fast food restaurant chain that operates in southwestern Connecticut. Duchess was founded in 1956 by Harold and Jack Berkowitz in Bridgeport and based in Milford, Connecticut. There are 11 locations all in the Fairfield and New Haven counties of Connecticut.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1956Founded1

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Duchess Worldwide, Inc., doing business as Duchess, is a privately owned and operated regional casual fast food restaurant chain that operates in southwestern Connecticut. Duchess was founded in 1956 by Harold and Jack Berkowitz in Bridgeport and based in Milford, Connecticut. There are 11 locations all in the Fairfield and New Haven counties of Connecticut. The restaurants feature an eat-in dining room, take-out service, and a drive-thru.2

The story

In 1956, brothers and diner owners Jack and Harold Berkowitz bought a restaurant named Maraczi's that sold hotdogs and hamburgers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The brothers needed to put a name on the paperwork and they decided to name the restaurant after Dutchess County, New York, without the "T". After the renaming, the Duchess fast food chain began to expand operations. As of 2026, Duchess now has 11 locations in the Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut. Duchess has fresh produce, meat and poultry delivered daily.

From Wikipedia’s article on Duchess (restaurant), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Products and brands

  • hamburger

Listed on Wikidata.1

Duchess has 11 locations and are found only in Connecticut:

Fairfield County

Bridgeport

Fairfield (2)

Monroe

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Norwalk

Shelton

Stratford

New Haven County

Ansonia

Milford

Naugatuck

Orange

Former Locations

Branford

Cromwell

Danbury (2)

Darien

Guilford

Hamden

Newtown

Ridgefield

Stamford

Wallingford

Waterbury

From Wikipedia’s article on Duchess (restaurant), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1956Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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