Norman's Tap will Be Back Next Month

After the East Greenwich Town Council last week approved new liquor and victualing licenses for Norman’s Tap, owner Norman Harris Jr. said work is underway to spruce up the Main Street landmark and reopen by the middle of August.

After clearing overdue tax bills upwards of $30,000 due to unpaid sewer fees, the Harris family is now recovering from being shut down over the fees and is “trying to dress the place up, change a few things, work it out the best we can,” Harris said.

And Harris didn’t mince words when asked if the recent ordeal with the town over unpaid back taxes, which led to the shutdown earlier this year, left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“It was a hard road for me,” he said. “We tried to talk to them to give us a break, we’ve been paying for years here — why not a little at a time? But it was a no go.”
Harris, 81, said it has been a tough climate for all small business owners in recent years, and the tax bill grew at beginning in 2010 around the same time his late wife became sick and later passed. Other family obligations were simultaneously occurring and he soon found himself spread a bit thin financially.

Eventually, things “got out of hand,” he said.

Though he said he’s glad to get a new victualing and liquor license, he noted he’s had uphill battles as a longstanding member of the local business community, recalling a time when he was cited for putting a menu board on the sidewalk.

“They took me to court,” he said. “And it just burns me when I see they’ve got all the tables and chairs out on the sidewalk now and I was the first one to ever have a sign out.”

Still, Harris, who celebrated his birthday about a week ago, joking that he continues to be told he looks more like 18 than 81, is optimistic about the future of Norman’s Tap and Restaurant.

“We don’t have any thing to hang our head over,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of friends who will come, a lot of family who will come.”

The family-owned property includes apartments, which offered some revenue during the closure. It was taken off the tax sale list in June after they made a $37,000 payment to clear up the overdue tax bills.

In mid June, there were signs that the establishment was eyeing reopening when it started posting subtle hints like a picture of a pint of beer.

Before their vote, the council took pause and added a provision that their entertainment permissions exclude bands.

Once open, the new Norman’s will have permission to feature DJs for karaoke nights.