SAUGUS — The former Spud’s Restaurant & Pub has hit the market for $1.2 million. Owner Bruce Spaulding hopes to see another restaurant take over the space.
“We had a successful 30 years and the prior owners, Heck Allen’s, had a successful couple of decades too so I think it’s a good spot for a restaurant,” said Spaulding.
The Saugus restaurant closed in June after more than three decades.
Spaulding first announced the restaurant would be closed on Mondays starting on June 11. But changing economy, lagging sales, and his age have left him with little choice but to close for good.
At one time, there were restaurants in Danvers, Rowley, Saugus, Woburn, and North Hampton, N.H. The Rowley location, the last remaining of the Spud’s Restaurants, is thriving and will remain open, said Spaulding.
Spaulding plans to sell the half-acre property, assessed at $749,700 in 2018. Tater Management Corp., owned by Spaulding, also owns 36 Lincoln Ave., a 10,000-square-foot property valued at $142,200. The lot was used for overflow parking for the restaurant. He said he is unsure whether the second property will be put on the market.
Bruce’s father, Richard, purchased the former Heck Allen’s property in Saugus from Stella Allen, who owned the restaurant with her husband Ashton “Heck” Allen for more than 30 years. Heck Allen was a lobsterman for most of his life and took a risk by opening a seafood restaurant in the early 1950s, according to a June 1985 edition of The Item.
The small waterfront spot was known best for its fried seafood, steak, and boiled dinner.
After her husband’s death, it was reported that Stella Allen made the difficult decision to sell because she had no family members who wanted to continue with the family business and retirement was calling her name.
The property is listed with Century 21, a real estate agency with an office in Medford. According to the listing, the sale includes the 7,296-square-foot building, which sits on .47 acres of land, and a full liquor license.
With the restaurant comes seating for 200, booth seating, tables, chairs, a full bar and stools, cooking equipment, a walk-in cooler and freezer, and other items.
The waterfront property is listed as being in flood zone AE, defined by FEMA.gov as a Special Flood Hazard Area. These areas have a 1 percent annual chance of flooding and are often referred to as the base flood or 100-year flood.
The listing also includes a disclaimer that the property is subjected to Chapter 21E. According to mass.gov, 21E refers to the Massachusetts Oil and Hazardous Material Release Prevention Act, relating to the identification and cleanup of property contaminated by the release of oil and/or hazardous material to the environment.
If the buyer plans to use the building as a restaurant, they will have to install a grease trap, per town regulations.
Spaulding said he has been contacted by multiple parties, ranging from restaurant brokers to SaugusTV, the public, educational, and government access channel provider for the town.
“We’ve had a lot of interest,” he said.
