The Ground Round is coming back to Shrewsbury after 20 years

A Shrewsbury restaurant which closed its doors in 2004 is reopening after two decades.

The Ground Round, a restaurant serving casual American food, is opening a new location at 271 Grafton St. in Shrewsbury, according to Nachi Shea, the restaurant’s co-owner.

The restaurant’s location is the site of Bauhinia Restaurant, which according to its closed on November 5 website.

The original Ground Round restaurant in Shrewsbury was located at 225 Boston Turnpike, but closed in 2004, according to the community lawyer.

Shea said she and her husband, Joseph Shea, had fond memories of eating at Ground Round and found that others in Shrewsbury shared those memories. She said her husband had been considering returning to Ground Round for a while.

“The idea is to take today’s efficiencies and apply it to the best of the ‘old’ Ground Round,” Shea said. “We listen closely to our community to ensure we are helping families share their memories with the next generation and build new ones for generations to come.”

The hope is to open Ground Round in the week of January 25 next year. The restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner and will have a bar area, according to Shea.

She notes that it was initially difficult to re-establish the restaurant when her husband found out that the franchisers of Ground Round did not want to expand. There are currently four Ground Round restaurants: one i Ohio and three in North Dakota.

However, after holding out, they agreed to a sale, making the couple the sole owners of the Ground Round in Shrewsbury.

“I come to this endeavor with many years of restaurant experience, both as an employee and owner,” Shea said. “Joe has owned several local businesses and brings the necessary experience to ensure the restaurant is successful.

“We will both be involved in the day-to-day operations, but we are putting together a great team that we can rely on to help us make this restaurant worthy of everyone’s memories and expectations,” she said.

The Ground Round was established in 1969. The restaurant serves American-style comfort foodsuch as the HayStack Burger, French dip sandwiches, mozzarella sticks, tenderloin and shrimp and their “Choc’late Lovin’ Spoon Cake.”

In 2004, the company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to reporting by the Boston Business Journal.

The temporary sign, which hung near the intersection of Routes 9 and 140, caught people’s eyes on social media this week, with more than 100 commenters on several Facebook group posts expressing joy and shock. Many shared memories of the nostalgic restaurant, including Ground Round’s peanut-covered floor.