SWAMPSCOTT, Mass. (AP) – The founder of Anthony’s Pier 4, one of New England’s best known seafood restaurants located on Boston’s waterfront, died Friday. Anthony Athanas was 93.

Athanas died at his home in Swampscott. He had been ill for several years and battled Alzheimer’s Disease for the past three years, a spokeswoman said.

Athanas emigrated with his family from Albania and settled in New Bedford in 1915. He peddled fruits and newspapers as a boy, and worked at hotels and restaurants in New York and New England.

Pier 4, which opened in 1963 along Boston Harbor, wasn’t his first restaurant but became the flagship. It became a hotspot among politicians and tourists.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., recalled Athanas greeting customers at the door of his restaurant. “I loved him, as I loved going there for family events and political gatherings. Anthony knew what it meant to work for a living, and his kindness and generosity will be missed by us all,” Kennedy said.

“Our city has lost a great gentleman and grand Bostonian,” former Boston mayor Kevin White said. “Like few others, Anthony Athanas was part of the very fabric of the city and his Pier 4 restaurant as familiar a landmark as the Freedom Trail or Old Ironsides.”

Pier 4, which features its own lobstering company, is one of four Athanas restaurants. The others are Anthony’s Hawthorne in Lynn, which Athanas opened in 1937; Hawthorne by The Sea (1946) in Swampscott, and Anthony’s Cummaquid Inn (1975) on Cape Cod.

His four sons – Anthony Jr., Michael, Robert and Paul – now operate the restaurants.

Athanas was born in Trebicka, Albania.