While the road to reopen the Commons Lunch since it burned down in March 2004 has not been smooth, the kitchen is cooking again, and has not been forgotten.

05:25 PM EDT on Wednesday, May 17, 2006

BY MICHAEL P. McKINNEY
Journal Staff Writer

LITTLE COMPTON -- They lined up, 50 or more of them, itching to get in.

There had been no big announcement, just a white sign hung on the door for a few days bearing in black magic marker what so many had waited to hear.

It was Monday, May 8, and the Commons Lunch was reopening for business.

That was the scene around noon as the restaurant that burned down in March 2004 came back to life, said Commons owner George Crowther. By the end of the first day, he said, 375 to 400 people had dined there.

"I tried to keep it as quiet as I could," Crowther said of the reopening, which followed a lengthy review process to get permits. "We didn't get too fancy" with the announcement.

The first week meant double-staffing the restaurant to accommodate everyone who wanted to eat, he said. There were some things to work out: new staff and new kitchen equipment. For the first three days, the Commons opened for lunch and dinner then resumed breakfast duty on the fourth day.

The restaurant, as Crowther described it, is a place where people from all walks of life come to eat and chat about what's going on. They are locals, but also from Barrington and Providence and Westport. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, when vacationers descend, the crowd also hails from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

"It's a place for everybody," said Crowther.

The restaurant, which seats 68, is celebrated for its jonnycakes -- ones that are "nice and lacey on the sides" -- and its seafood. Crowther said the plan, as summer approaches, is to also offer more upscale dining at night and that the Commons will then stay open until 8 every night. Crowther said the restaurant will in a few weeks begin serving wine and beer, a first for it.

For now, the restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday through Sunday.

Crowther's sons-in-law are involved with the restaurant now, as are his daughters and his wife, Barbara, who makes the pastries.

"You just miss it, you know?" said Crowther. "When your life is set on something like this, and all of a sudden it's taken away, you feel good" when it comes back.

"I really missed it."

mmckinneATprojo.com / (401) 277-7447