The Old Grist Mill Tavern Opens Next Month

The Old Grist Mill Tavern is returning to serve the local community once again after two years of reconstruction.

The restaurant, located at 390 Fall River Ave., will reopen next month, The Sun Chronicle reported.

The building was turned to rubble after a tractor-trailer overturned and ruptured a gas line, causing an explosion at the restaurant in June 2012.

“As with any fire, many things were damaged and needed to be replaced, but we still wanted the building to remain true to its age and character,” owner Greg Esmay said in video on The Old Grist Mill Tavern’s kickstarter page.

Contractors salvaged and used parts of the old building to construct the new tavern. Owner Greg Esmay said in the video he was committed to replicating the former restaurant as close as possible.

Contractors hand-built the Old Grist Mill’s interior, and the new lounge and bar were reconstructed using native elm from a 150-year-old tree on the property, Esmay said in the video.

The total cost of reconstruction was $3.5 million, the Chronicle reported.

The restaurant passed its preliminary health inspection on Wednesday, according to the Old Gristmill Tavern Facebook page.

The Old Grist Mill Tavern offers various dishes including steak, crab cakes, baked stuffed jumbo shrimp, and Boston scrod.

The property has been a historic part of the Seekonk community since the 1700s.

The location was used to grind grain for the local farmers until the 1920s and was then transformed into a tavern in the 1930s.

Photo Credit: The Old Grist Mill Tavern Facebook page