Palumbo’s, River Road open back patio

NEWARK – Visitors to the downtown location of Palumbo’s Italian Market and River Road Coffee House now have a new space to enjoy their sandwiches and coffee.

After opening a patio on the sidewalk in front of their building earlier this summer, the businesses have added a second patio out back.

“The back area was one of the selling points of the building,” said Paul Palumbo, who owns the Italian restaurant with his wife, Cindy. “We knew from the beginning it was going to be a great bonus for us.”

As construction to install new water and sewer lines continues around the courthouse square, the Palumbos and River Road managing partner Stacey Forman Donnelly knew it was time to open the back patio.

Once the construction makes it to North Park Place there will only be a short piece of sidewalk available for customers to access the front door and parking will be completely eliminated in front of the restaurant and coffee shop.

The addition of the back patio not only provides a nice seating area for guests, but it also gives customers another entrance to the restaurant and a place to park. Forman Donnelly said eight parking spaces are available.

Work on the patio started in March with the help of a grant. The project took about five months to complete. Steps were taken to make sure the patio was built to retain the historical look of the building and play off of its original design, Palumbo said.

Now that the work is done, the Palumbos and Forman Donnelly are excited to invite customers to dine outside with them. Forman Donnelly hopes that the pergola and sign above the patio will catch people’s eyes as they drive by and increase their visibility downtown.

So far the downtown location has been well supported by residents, with many of them becoming regular customers, Forman Donnelly said. She hopes they will continue to support the businesses during the construction project.

“We always knew there would be challenges, but I think the changes they are making are positive ones for the downtown area and we are excited to be a part of it,” Forman Donnelly said of the construction. “The patio has really come together and we think we’ve made a really nice place to come and sit and enjoy your morning coffee or lunch.”

emaddern@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @emmaddern