ESSEX — Now that The Village Restaurant has closed its doors, customers and residents are anticipating just who will take over the facility.
According to Essex Licensing Clerk Pamela Witham, the prospective new owner of The Village, at 55 Main St., is Bia Mor Hospitality LLC, “doing business as” The James North Shore, with Mary Kiehly named as manager.
Efforts to reach Bia Mor Hospitality and Kiehly before deadline on Friday were unsuccessful.
Witham said their transfer request has already been approved by the Board of Selectmen and the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.
The transfer was approved by Essex selectmen during a public hearing on Aug. 21 and it was also approved by the Massachusetts ABCC on Sept. 5, Witham said.
The 240-seat restaurant closed to the public last Wednesday, finishing out the day with a private family and staff gathering.
Mark Audette, owner of Aztec LLC, in Newburyport, had bought the Village Restaurant from Mark and Kevin Ricci of Essex in 2019. Audette also owns The Deck (300 seats) in Salisbury and Giuseppe’s (72 seats) in Newburyport. The Audette family recently finalized the sale of the Essex restaurant to new owners.
The license transfer process begins with the new licensee filing out an application and submitting it to the Essex Board of Selectmen, who also serves as the License Board. The application is reviewed and a public hearing is then held where board members meet the new prospective licensee, review the application and ask questions, Witham said.
Final approval or denial for the license transfer is made by the Massachusetts ABCC. Once the ABCC has approved the transfer, the selectmen sign and issue the alcohol license.
Stephen Hagan can be reached at 978-675-2708 or at shagan@northofboston.com.