Two projects at Empire businesses are anticipated to come to fruition this summer, and sooner rather than later. Frank Lerchen is expanding Joe’s Friendly Tavern by adding an indoor-outdoor space at the former Deering’s Market, while Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate is adding a gelato shop and bakery in the building next door.

Lerchen, owner of the Empire Village Inn and The Friendly, purchased Deering’s in fall 2020; it had been a community fixture since being built following World War II, until it closed in 2018. He had hoped to open last year, but faced supply chain problems and permit delays. Now he’s focused on opening later this month, depending on finishing construction and final inspections.

Lerchen had previously considered the idea of converting the refurbished building and open-air courtyard into a mercato area, a setting for farmers and vendors to display and sell their wares, but ultimately decided against that. “I didn’t want it to look like a flea market,” he says.

Instead, the outdoor area will feature a “beer garden” courtyard area, with picnic tables dispersed throughout. The roofed area will open to the courtyard through garage doors with countertops underneath. In the roofed area, which will include tables, a bar and restrooms, customers will be able to cast their eyes upward and see the original roof trusses (pictured above left). He says he heard from a longtime local customer who remembered as a youngster seeing the trusses being built in the street.

Lerchen says the unique combination of outdoors and open-air setting will attract those in a hurry and those who are not yet comfortable sitting indoors in close proximity to others. Another side effect of the pandemic is that many people simply discovered the allure of dining al fresco. “People want to be outside,” he says. The courtyard and roofed indoor area will also alleviate the challenge of the limited seating he has indoors.

The new facility will stick to the staples: burgers, beers, and a number of items available to go. “We’ll have a limited menu and a lot of grab-and-go. That’s going to be great for people,” he says. “They can grab a cheeseburger and fries and a beer … and go back to the beach.”

Meanwhile, on the north side of town, Grocer’s Daughter Chocolates is getting a new neighbor: the Grocer’s Daughter Gelato shop (building at the left, pictured top right). “It’s exciting,” says Jody Hayden, who owns the business along with her husband DC Hayden. “We’re bursting at the seams in the chocolate shop. This is an opportunity to further impact the area.” The goal is to be open by late June.

The new facility will feature a rotating menu of a dozen house-made gelatos, which are richer and denser than typical American ice cream. Hayden says the store will use locally sourced fruits and sweets in the bakery as much as possible. That includes local root beer and kombucha for floats (yes, kombucha floats).

Both the shops will also offer coffee drinks, cookies and brownies. The new shop will also have two rental units on the second floor, which Hayden says will help address the lodging challenge in the summer months. They will be themed as well — the Milk Chocolate Suite and the Dark Chocolate Suite. Or is that sweet?

That’s not the only change at Grocer’s Daughter. The Haydens also purchased the former Anchor Hardware store just north of their building. When they discovered how compromised the building was, they opted to convert it into a community garden and park area (bottom right), complete with butterfly seats, native plantings and firepits for friends and customers to enjoy year-round. Coming this winter will be the Sweet Shed on the back of the property, which Hayden says will serve hot drinks for the colder months.

Hayden says she anticipates a positive response, and she’s already had a couple potential customers give them accolades. “Our children are 6 and 7. They think gelato and cookies are the most wonderful things we could have done,” she says.