Photo: Emma Friedman/WBZ NewsRadio
SHREWSBURY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A once-popular restaurant chain is returning with a new twist in Shrewsbury, Mass.
The Ground Round opened its first location in the Commonwealth back in 1969 but ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2004. Decades later, owners Joseph and Nachi Shea have brought the Ground Round back to its home state.
Prior to bringing back the restaurant, Joseph said he noticed a lot of people hoping for its return. He said social media posts mentioning the Ground Round would sometimes have “thousands of comments on it.”
“There was just organically a lot of conversations over the years of people mentioning the restaurant by name, how much they missed it, and wished that it was still in town,” said Joseph.
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Nachi said they spent months renovating an old Chinese restaurant on Route 9. Now they are serving dinner with a limited menu ahead of a grand opening celebration on April 30.
“We did put our twist on everything. We’re not traveling back in time, so it is very updated and slightly elevated,” said Nachi. “We are so pleased with how this past weekend went. The feedback on the atmosphere has been incredible.”
While nostalgia remains a key characteristic of the Ground Round, Joseph said they made some adjustments to the entertainment offerings.
“In the old days, they played black and white cartoons. We are playing 80s and 90s cartoons because [if] we look at the generations that were there as kids, that’s the cartoons they would have watched,” said Joseph.
Currently, there are only two other Ground Rounds in the U.S. Both are located in North Dakota.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Emma Friedman (@EmmaFriedmanWBZ) reports.