A casual dining restaurant chain from the 1970s that originated in Massachusetts is being revived by a couple who have felt nostalgic about it for years.
Joe and Nachi Shea live in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and are bringing back The Ground Round to their hometown, where the first location opened in 1969 and closed in 2004.
The couple bought the rights to The Ground Round, which was founded by hospitality giant Howard Johnson in 1969 as an offshoot restaurant brand.
At its peak, there were more than 200 locations across the United States. They were known for their peanut-covered floors and its pay-what-you-weigh system.
But by 2004, The Ground Round was facing major financial shortfalls and declared bankruptcy. There are just four restaurants left, all in the Midwest.
The Sheas are looking to add a fifth and hope other locals are just as eager to revisit their fond memories of eating at this unique establishment with their families.
‘People would talk about it, about missing it, about what a great place it was, and when enough people said it, I said, “Enough people are talking about this, why can’t that happen?” Joe told Fox Business.
Joe also told CBS News that he was ‘there all the time’ when he was growing up.
Pictured: One of the last Ground Round locations in Grand Forks, North Dakota
Joe and Nachi Shea are in the process of bringing back The Ground to Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, where the first restaurant was founded
Pictured: The site where the new restaurant is going to open. It could open as soon as January
‘This area of Shrewsbury had an iconic location. The brand is iconic and classic, and people all the time would talk about how much they missed it,’ he said. ‘We were there all the time. It was the place to go after practice, or after games, or on the weekend with your family. It was the family place.’
Joe said he and his wife have been trying become franchisees for years but ‘could never get any responses.’ That changed when then CFO of the former ownership group reached out to them offering to sell the rights and trademarks to the company.
Now that they’re the owners, Joe and Nachi took over the lease of a restaurant that closed in November and have begun renovating the building to recreate The Ground Round.
The restaurant had a simple menu that consisted of burgers, baby back ribs and other standard American favorites. Joe added that they’ll be bringing back ice cream sundaes in plastic baseball caps, fried dough triangles and unlimited popcorn.
He and his wife are also considering bringing back the pay-what-you-weigh system by making it optional, but they ‘haven’t fully figured out exactly what they want to do.’
The redesigned restaurant will blend what it traditionally looked like back in the 1970s with more modern aesthetic choices.
‘We’re looking to blend some parts of the past, whether it be decoral photos, some things that kind of remind people of it, maybe some stained-glass lamps and lights and so forth,’ Joe said.
‘But we’re in 2024, going into 2025, so we can’t have it look exactly like it was 25, 30 years ago. It’ll be more modern aspects with it too, obviously, with the way things are decorated and the overall look for it.’
The Ground Round is replacing a restaurant that closed in November. The Sheas took over the lease shortly after and began renovation work
The couple hopes to make it a ‘local destination and not this cookie-cutter place that the large chains are.’ (Pictured: The interior of the restaurant)
The renovation process, which kicked off right after the couple took over the lease, has been going ‘pretty well.’
‘The tiling and the bathroom renovations are all done. The bars, I’d say, are 90% done. The painting is like 99% done. Next will be outfitting the kitchen,’ Joe said.
The couple hopes to make it a ‘local destination and not this cookie-cutter place that the large chains are.’
‘We’re really hoping to step back from all of that and bring it back to a time when you really enjoyed your time with your family … where you saw your neighbors, some other people from around town,’ Nachi told NBC Boston in mid-November.
As of now, the couple don’t have plans to open any more restaurants, though they’ve hinted that could change if the Shrewsbury location is successful.
‘We’re focusing on food, making sure that it’s done right, done well,’ Joe said. ‘And then, you know, if in the future it makes sense to do that, we’ll look at it. But right now, we have zero plans to expand.’
The couple said they are aiming to open the latest Ground Round in January after the New Year.
