Since 1973, when Tudor Square was constructed, Hersheypark has had a restaurant at the entrance of the park. The restaurant was constructed on the south side of the Tudor Square midway, with the back of the restaurant up against Park Boulevard.
There have been five different restaurants to operate in this location. Hersheypark’s current restaurant opened up in a nearby location.
Tudor House Restaurant
This restaurant operated from 1973 to 1982. It appears the restaurant opened around July 4 in the 1973 season as the restaurant was not promoted until July. It was mentioned in news articles talking about the Tudor Square renovation, however.
When Tudor House opened, it became Hersheypark’s sixth restaurant. Food and beverage that was served included Queen Anne’s Ladle (soup), the Royal Armada (a selection of fruit), A Midsummer’s Dream, and a House of Lords.
The Tudor Rose Tavern
This restaurant operated from 1983 to 1991. In the menu for Tudor Rose, it discusses the history of the most famous Tudors, Henry VII and Elizabeth I. It discusses alewines and beer, and relates the history to why it is in Tudor Square.
The food items on the restaurant menu were named after various notable English things. Examples of names include The Londoner, Big Ben, The Old English, and The Puritan. During Christmas Candylane, they would offer special buffets around Christmas, such as the Wassail Bowl Buffet, or the Olde English Buffet.
Pippin’s Food & Spirits
This restaurant operated from 1992 to 2003. The logo featured Our Hero Pippin At The Park and had a quote, “Filling Life’s Great Expectations.” This demonstrates that the restaurant is named for the Great Expectations protagonist, Pip. The restaurant was changed from Tudor Rose to Pippin’s likely because of the popularity of the Dinner with Dickens event held in the tavern during Candylane.
Food items under Sensational Sandwiches were named after Hersheypark rides. Examples of names include Great Bear, Roller Soaker, and Chaos. (Chaos operated from 1999-2005 and Roller Soaker operated from 2002-2012.)
Tudor Grill
This restaurant operated from 2004 to 2010. This was more of a genericized name, especially compared to Pippin’s and Tudor Rose. The logo for the restaurant was very simple.
Hersheypark Place
Hersheypark Place opened in 2011 and completely abandoned any Tudor theming on it’s interior. It was themed after Hersheypark, featuring costume characters and images of rides. It operated until the later parts of the 2018 season.
This was the last iteration of the restaurant in this location. The building was torn down in early 2019. It was replaced by The Chocolatier in a new location at the entrance of the park.
The Chocolatier
The Chocolatier debuted in 2021. It was originally slated to open in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the opening of the restaurant was pushed to the following year.
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