Grendel's Den

Grendel's Den was a popular bar and restaurant in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts located at 89 Winthrop Street. The establishment was frequented by both students and professors of Harvard University as well as many others from the Cambridge and Boston area. The name was a reference to Grendel, the antagonist in the Old English epic poem of Beowulf.

The restaurant was most famous for the lawsuit "Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc. 459 U.S. 116" which reached the United States Supreme Court in 1982. The suit challenged a Massachusetts' state blue law (16C) that allowed a religious institution within 500-feet of a liquor license applicant to prevent the issuance. The District Court held that the law was unconstitutional under the Establishment Clause, ruling in favor of Grendel's Den. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the lower court.

The Pi Eta Harvard final club used to own the building until it was sold to developers in the 1970s.

References

* Information on the "Larkin v. Grendel's Den" at Findlaw.com: [http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=459&invol=116]
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External links

* [http://www.grendelsden.com/ Grendel's Den homepage]