Former Beach House Could Reopen with New Ownership

The shuttered former Beach House nightclub in Portsmouth could be coming back to life this year.

Michael Richard, son of Buddy and Kay Richard, started working at Buddy’s Union Villa at the age of 15 and has been the manager there since his father died in 1998.

That restaurant, in Easton, Mass., is a meeting place and known as a family business with community ties.

Richard said that’s the also the plan for the former Beach House in Portsmouth, which he hopes to turn into a place he’ll name The Beachcomber.

And the new business is unlikely to raise many eyebrows or cause problems like the former Beach House nightclub, which abandoned its liquor license and closed last year after a series of problems relating to drunk and unruly behavior by patrons, underage service and noise and disturbance complaints around closing time.

Instead, Richard hopes to make the Beachcomber a family-friendly meeting place and watering hole. And his application for a liquor license included some strong voices of support, including Massachusetts State Representative Clair D. Cronin, who said that Buddy’s Union Villa “has been a staple in our Easton community for years” and has become a “common meeting spot for young and old alike, with patrons ranging from six to eighty-six-years-old.”

“It is a strong family business with a strong commitment to our community,” she said. “For years, this restaurant has been a shining example of true community partnership.”

Jeff Fuller, an officer with the Easton Police Department, wrote that Bobby’s Union Villa has been a “reliable place to gather” and Richard, who he described as a competent businessman, community agent and friend, “would bring the same values and ideals to the community of Portsmouth that the has brought to the Easton community.”

The plan has some local support, too.

Neighbors who received notice for the liquor license application wrote a letter to the Town Council that said they urged the application be approved.

“We have patronized all the restaurants in Island Park from time to time and look forward to the continuing improvements in the dining opportunities in Island Park that this application seems to portend,” said Wilder and Enedina G. Snodgrass of Thorpe Ave.

The Portsmouth Town Council will take up the liquor license application at it’s meeting on Monday, Feb. 9.