Business & Tech

Young Entrepreneurs Have Sights Set on New Downtown Bar This Summer

Donald Powell and Christopher Sedlock plan to open a bar along the riverfront this summer

The Falls River Square District will welcome a new restaurant and bar come this summer.

Business partners Christopher Sedlock and Donald Powell are keeping the name under wraps for now, but they were more than willing to share their vision for the business that'll open at 2152 Front St.

"Down here it’s low-key. It’s a sort of all-American feel," Powell said of the riverfront area. "So it’s not going to be dressy. It’s going to be a bar-slash-tavern. We’ll focus on having a one-page menu, eight to 10 quality items that we can be known for, that we can focus on.”

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The business will stress "customer service, professionalism and promptness," but the real emphasis will be on the food, which will include burgers, steaks, pizza and other finger foods. The business partners are in the process of hiring a full-time chef to oversee the kitchen.

“We’re really hoping to nail it in the food department," Powell said.

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The business partners bought the building in September 2012 with high hopes for the bar and restaurant. Since they purchased the structure, Top Level Martial Arts and attorney's office (for Attorney Eric J. Harsey) have moved in, leaving just one unit in the building vacant.

The 10,000-square-foot building is in the process of being renovated, and Powell expects construction to start in the restaurant (2,000 square feet) in about six to eight weeks.

They hope to open sometime this summer.

The two are excited to be a part of the Falls River Square District and bring something new to the area.

“This is a great area," Powell said. "It offers several competitive advantages that no other areas in this place really have, notably Rockin’ on the River, movie nights, the car nights, the festivals that go on. It’s just a very unique area that has a good bit of history and we’d like to contribute to it and make something nicer out of it.”


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