Cabot’s is a venerable Newton institution, serving ice cream and food since 1969. The Prestejohn family owned it until 2023, when Kay and Kevin Masterson, owners of Johnny’s Luncheonette, purchased it.
The business sells about 60% food and 40% ice cream. Cabot’s has over 70 flavors of ice cream, custom made. Prestejohn said he could call the ice cream factory and tell them any type of flavor and they’d make it.
“But it’s not just the flavor combination – it’s the name. The name intrigues people,” he said. The biggest draw is the sundaes, served in old fashioned glasses.
“People watch their sundaes getting made. It’s part of the show,” he said.
They also sell ice cream cupcakes, ice cream cakes, and frozen yogurt pies. It helps that New Englanders love ice cream. It’s the most consumed dessert in the region, and it’s more popular per capita here than anywhere else.
“Where else can you sit in front of a fireplace, throw a blanket on, and eat a pint of ice cream?” asked Prestejohn.
Not a lot has changed since the Mastersons bought it. “We’ve been in the business our whole lives,” said Kay Masterson about herself and her husband, Kevin, who have owned various restaurants in Massachusetts over the past several decades. “Joe and I had gotten to know each other through the Chamber of Commerce, and we lined up a lot in the way we approach business.”
They bought Johnny’s in Newton Centre in 2014, so when they heard Cabot’s was for sale, they jumped to buy it.
The Mastersons were happy to be able to buy another successful business. But they were also happy to be able to continue the Cabot’s legacy as a local institution.
“Local business is the engine, not just of the economy, but of the community,” said Masterson.
She knew from Johnny’s how important restaurants like this are.
One of the draws of Cabot’s is its continuity. There have been changes over the years, but they’ve been subtle. “People come here with babies and tell them, I came here when I was a little kid, and there’s so few places like that today,” said Prestejohn. Masterson isn’t interested in changing it. “We all want the same thing at the end: for Cabot’s to continue, and that Cabot’s is Cabot’s,” she said. “I can’t overstate the value of these kinds of places.” Cabot’s draws a wide variety of people, whether they be young families, older people, or high schoolers looking for somewhere to hang out on a Friday night. Masterson said she also noticed quickly that there were some regulars who love Cabot’s because they’re in recovery, and it’s a place they can go for a good meal without having to see a drink menu.
“My dad wanted to get out of alcohol,” said Prestejohn about his parents’ decision to purchase Cabot’s instead of replicating their previous prime rib-and-steak Boston restaurant.
Cabot’s, named for the Boston Brahmin family whose name appears on other Newton locations, had been open for about two years when Joseph and Catherine Prestejohn bought it.
They kept the decor and the idea but greatly expanded the food and ice cream offerings. A restaurant can’t survive without customers, and in an age of high interest rates and insurance costs it’s difficult for a business that already runs on thin margins. “There’s all kinds of increasing costs for small businesses. The only way to keep restaurants going is to go there,” said Masterson. “We don’t exist in a vacuum.” Prestejohn noted that it can be hard to hire workers when the cost of housing is so high.
Prestejohn continues to work a couple shifts a week at Cabot’s, but now he can focus more on scooping ice cream at events around town without worrying what’s going on back at the restaurant. “I call him the ice cream ambassador,” said Masterson. “It’s the best form of advertising there is,” he said.
Cabot’s is located at 743 Washington St. and is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.