The owners of one of Rhode Island’s best-known banquet halls are expanding into Massachusetts with the purchase of the Hillside Country Club in Rehoboth, a deal scheduled to close tomorrow.

The purchase of Hillside has been months in the making, first becoming public in January when members of the Lombardi family, the owners of Lombardi’s 1025 in Johnston, asked Massachusetts officials for permission to take control of the Hillside liquor license.

Negotiations on Hillside hit unspecified snags over the winter, said Steven Lombardi.

George Cardono rebuilt Hillside in 2001 after the country club building was destroyed in a fire. A new, two-story, building is now the site of wedding receptions and other functions such as the ones the Lombardis host in Johnston.

Lombardi is among the Rhode Island business owners who’ve railed about the difficulty of complying with Rhode Island’s new fire safety laws — enacted after The Station nightclub fire.

The Lombardis face an estimated $400,000 bill for sprinklers, he told state legislators in hearings on the new laws.

The 1025 is operating under a time variance from a state appeals board, Lombardi told House legislators.

The family is expanding its Rhode Island operations at the same time that it’s branching out of state, Lombardi said, but the banquet business will shift away from the landmark restaurant at 1025 Plainfield St. A catering operation will stay in its spot near the Plainfield Street restaurant.

The family plans to sell the 1025 Plainfield St. building after finding another banquet location in Rhode Island, Lombardi said.