Dante Stephensen was born in Chicago, Illinois on November 17,1935 and passed away in Atlanta on July 26, 2020. Dante was the founder and majority owner of two Atlanta landmark restaurants, Dante’s Down the Hatch in Underground Atlanta and Dante’s Down the Hatch in Buckhead. Over his 43-year stint as a restauranteur, Dante created a magical world of jazz, fondue and romance for his patrons, many of whom credit Dante for setting the stage of their engagements, proms, anniversaries, birthdays and other special celebrations. His restaurant had seating on a wharf and on a ship that included live crocodiles in the moat surrounding the ship. Dante was known as the “Mayor of Underground Atlanta” and his restaurant was the last to leave when Underground closed in 1982 and was one of the cornerstone venues when Underground reopened in 1989. He became an expert of wines from around the world and his wine cellar at Dante’s Down the Hatch won numerous awards. Dante was loved and cherished by his employees who became an extension of his family and was admired and respected by his Board of Directors.
Dante had a significant career as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy and was a member of the elite Underwater Demolition Team, and later became a member of the very first SEAL team; he was a “Plank Owner” of SEAL Team 2 where he led numerous missions in Cuba and Vietnam. Passionate about preserving the history and honor of Navy SEALS and their predecessor units, Dante was one of the founding members of the Navy Seal Museum in Florida and served as Board Chairman Emeritus.
One of Dante’s numerous hobbies was railroads of all kinds. During the summers as a young man, he worked as a “gandy dancer” wielding a heavy mallet as part of a crew replacing and repairing defective railroad tracks, living and traveling with the repair crew in the caboose. Dante purchased and rebuilt a private railroad car, renamed Survivor, which was built by the Woolworth family in 1926. Dante was a member of the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners, Inc., and took numerous trips around the United States and Canada in his train car. When not traveling, the railroad car was parked in a siding in Buckhead and served as Dante’s private residence where he enjoyed the mournful sounds of freight trains passing by.
Dante was very generous and contributed to many charities, including Fernbank Museum, the Seal Team Museum in Florida, Carleton College, the Atlanta Ballet and the African Wild Animals Preservation Group. His primary interest was preservation of the cheetahs in their native habitat. Dante was an active member of Rotary Club of Atlanta. His good humor and participation in Atlanta events as well as his magnetic personality will be sorely missed.
Dante attended North Shore Country Day School for his elementary years, Skokie Junior High School, and New Trier High School in Illinois. At New Trier High School, he wrestled on the varsity team. Dante majored in Geology at Carleton College. He won his varsity letter on their wrestling team and represented Carleton at the Intercollegiate wrestling tournament at Iowa, placing third in the lightweight class.
Dante is survived by his older brother David, sister-in-law Lydia, his nephew Gary, his nieces Holly, Valeria and Robin and four great nieces and nephews. Anyone wishing to donate a memorial in Dante’s honor, donations can be made in Dante’s name to the Cheetah Foundation https://cheetah.org/.
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