NORTH SMITHFIELD – The sale of a popular School Street restaurant to a neighboring business was finalized last week, with a deed for the purchase of Village Haven for $861,700 recorded in the North Smitihfield Town Clerk’s office.
Dog Pack, LLC, a company registered in March by Lucky Dog Tavern’s Chef Gianfranco Campenella, bought the property at 90 School St. from V.H., Inc., a business owned by Rachel Narodowy.
Chef Gian’s wife and business co-owner Sandra Campenella, meanwhile, appeared before the Town Council at a meeting on Monday, July 18 to transfer the Village Haven’s liquor and entertainment licenses to the new owners.
“Lucky Dog will stay as it is, where it is,” she explained. “Also, we will have Village Haven as a separate entity.”
The sale marks a new beginning for a restaurant that’s served classic comfort food to local families for more than four decades. While the Campenellas’ other restaurant features somewhat higher-end modern cuisine, they have said that much will remain the same at the Village Haven, with the usual menu of favorites including family-style chicken, prime rib and cinnamon buns. One member of the family that has operated the business since its opening in the mid-1970s, Gary Narodowy, will even remain on staff, joining new Village Haven management team.
The single-story restaurant is seated on a 2.3197 acre property just two doors down from where the Campenellas opened the Lucky Dog in 2019. The structure features large dining areas and banquet facilities on a lot valued at $832,500, with taxes of more than $16,000 paid annually.
Village Haven closed in late June for renovations and is expected to reopen under the new ownership later this month. The only building permits taken out on the property to date were for improvements to a loading dock and overhead door, according to officials at the town’s building and zoning office.
Do you still have family style pot roast and do you take credit cards