On 8:30 p.m. on any given Monday before the pandemic, The Griswold Inn would be packed. A stately colonial building in the sleepy, coastal New England town of Essex, Connecticut, the Griswold Inn sits just steps from the water. Flying gallantly above the sidewalk was a flag featuring an anchor and the phrase “Chanteys tonight!” Small groups would huddle outside the Inn, finishing cigarettes or sipping Guinness in the breeze blowing in off the Connecticut River while, inside, throngs of people packed the front room. Young, old, regular, first-timer, salt-crusted,…
