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Two Upper Valley Pike restaurants have closed in recent weeks, but the owner of a long popular pizza restaurant is optimistic it eventually could open again.
The Barn Pizza, at 411 Upper Valley Pike, closed after its most recent owner left, said Phil Morrow, who owns the building. Morrow, who ran the restaurant several years ago, said he is trying to find a new tenant to take over the business and said he’s hopeful it will reopen.
“The bottom part of the building was leased to the store owner and it didn’t work out for him evidently,” Morrow said.
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Morrow said he bought the restaurant in 1976 and ran it for about 20 years before selling the business. A separate owner ran the business for about 20 more years before retiring and moving to Florida, and Morrow said he took the business back for about six months before selling it again.
Morrow said he plans to find a new tenant, but there’s no timeline for when the business will open again.
“It will be similar to the way it always has been with a pizza and carryout and a little dining room,” Morrow said.
The Barn had opened a second location in Medway last fall and that site also appears to have closed.
Abbey’s Mediterranean Cuisine, 1236 Upper Valley Pike, also closed, but the owners of that business couldn’t be reached for comment. The business opened in April last year and specialized in Middle Eastern dishes.
That site previously housed Mi Jalapeno, a Mexican restaurant that closed after several problems.
The Upper Valley Mall has also struggled to draw foot traffic after several anchors closed stores. But Morrow said he thinks the Barn can be successful on Upper Valley Pike.
“There are plenty of people close by that will frequent that store,” Morrow said.
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