‘A Hampton Beach icon’: McGuirk’s Ocean View Hotel & Restaurant's history rooted in family

HAMPTON — The McGuirk family has been in business at Hampton Beach for decades, and this year the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce is recognizing their contributions to the community.

McGuirk's Ocean View Hotel & Restaurant will be named the chamber’s 2022's Business of the Year during their annual awards ceremony on March 2 at the Ashworth by the Sea.

"The McGuirk family has been a Hampton Beach icon for many years and continues to invest in making Hampton Beach the number 1 jewel of New Hampshire," said Chamber President John Nyhan.

The current face of the family business, 50-year-old Tom McGuirk, is the fifth of eight children who grew up summering and working at Hampton Beach, away from Worcester, Massachusetts, where they spent off-season months. It was McGuirk’s parents, Eleanor and the late Bill McGuirk, who opened the hotel and restaurant 30 years ago, he said, but added his family’s role in the Hampton Beach scene started before that.

“This started with my grandmother and grandfather,” McGuirk said. “They bought and rented cottages at Hampton Beach. My parents opened the hotel and restaurant 30 years ago, but they began in 1969 with cottage rentals. That’s what you did. There were four families on our street back then and all of them bought and rented cottages during the summer.”

'It's a family affair'

From the very start, McGuirk and his siblings pitched in while summering at Hampton Beach, but no one thought much about it at the time.

“Someone would say, ‘Hey, that porch needs painting,’ and you went and painted the porch,” he said. “We had no idea we were working hard; we just did it.”

During the offseason, education was a priority, and McGuirk graduated from Troy, New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a bachelor’s degree in management, then headed to Boston’s Emerson College for a master’s in communication.

After graduating, he headed for California, working in Hollywood from 1995 through 2003, writing for a number of situation comedies, like “Eight Simple Rules” starring the late John Ritter. The series ran for three years on ABC.

“I was a huge television fan; I always liked sitcoms,” McGuirk said. “I had a great experience in LA. I loved it. Loved the people I worked with and going to work every day. But during the (summer television) hiatus, I always came back here and worked in the family business.”

That was pretty much the same for all of his siblings – sisters Norene, Erin, Meghan, Colleen, and Kerry, and brothers Bill and Tim. No matter the professions, those who could return to Hampton Beach and work at the hotel and restaurant each summer did. Many still do.

“It’s a family affair,” he said.

After eight years in Los Angeles, however, Hollywood began to lose its appeal.

“The (television) industry was changing; it wasn’t as friendly an environment any more,” he said. “And I had something back here that a lot of people dream about.”

In 2003, after returning home for the summer, McGuirk stayed. As his parents grew older, he stepped in to take responsibilities off their shoulders. He would assume the role of general manager of the Ocean View, then open a real estate brokerage to keep himself busy year-round.

“I don’t like to stop and start, and I like real estate; it suits me,” McGuirk said. “I don’t mind working hard. The people I grew up with worked 12 to 14 hours a day.”

He credits his parents for passing on their work ethic to he and his siblings, as well as their handling of staff.

“We have good employees and we’re very good to our help,” he said. “We have the same people return year after year and we treat them like family. And some have become family.”

McGuirk said he’s “humbled” by being named Business of the Year by the chamber. And the family isn’t going to rest on its laurels.

“We’re always expanding,” he said. “We do something new every summer.”

Plus, he’s pretty confident McGuirk’s will continue as a family business, offering new things for many years to come.

“I consider myself a third-generation Hampton Beach business owner,” said McGuirk. “And there’ll be a fourth generation. I have 20 nieces and nephews.”

Other award winners

The recipients of the chamber’s other business awards are: Tom Moulton, president and CEO of Sleepnet Corporation and DeNiro Construction, winner of the Faith in the Future Award; and the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades, winner of the President’s Award.

According to Colleen Westcott, events director of the chamber, these annual awards are given after consideration of the organization’s board of directors, in conjunction with chamber President John Nyhan.

Moulton, a long-term resident, was chosen for his continued business and real estate investment in the community and his plans to improve local housing opportunities, according to Nyhan, making “him a perfect fit for the Faith in the Future Award."

“Tom has truly given back to the community in many ways,” according to Nyhan.

New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades, though relatively new to Hampton, jumped in and worked with the chamber and Winnacunnet High School to provide training to high school students in the mechanical trades, expertise that is needed in the area, according to Nyhan. The program exposes high school students to career paths in plumbing, electrical, oil heat and air conditioning.

During the evening ceremony, the chamber will also recognize and remember community members Bob Preston Sr., Norman Bolyea, and Dan (Desi) Lanio.

The Chamber’s Awards Dinner begins at 5 p.m. on March 2 at the Ashworth by the Sea, located on Ocean Boulevard at Hampton Beach. Tickets are $45. For more information, contact the chamber at 603-926-8718 or email sherrill@hamptonchamber.com.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 'Hampton Beach icon’: McGuirk’s Ocean View Hotel & Restaurant honored