Friday, December 20, 2024

Grumbellies reborn

By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Editor

Grumbellies has found a new home — in downtown Fort Edward in the former Glens Falls National Bank building at 159 Broadway that closed in 2021.

Irma Hamblin told The Chronicle they are purchasing the property for $215,000.

“We signed the paperwork and I gave them the down payment,” she said.

“We haven’t been through our closing yet. That should be coming.” They hope to open in March.

Grumbellies goes before the Village of Fort Edward’s Planning/Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m.

Jeff & Irma Hamblin own Grumbellies. Photo from Grumbellies Facebook page.
Irma and Jeff Hamblin ran Grumbellies restaurant/music venue/community gathering spot for eight years in Fort Ann. It closed in July after losing its lease.

Since then, Mrs. Hamblin said, “We had been looking at quite a few places [including South Glens Falls and Hudson Falls]. Then we had a couple people recommend that we go down and look at the Glens Falls National Bank in Fort Edward.

“Once we got in there and looked around, we were like wow, this place is beautiful. It’s got a beautiful parking lot that goes out to the Yacht Basin, and there’s a little park area out there. I think it’s going to be a great new forever home for us.”

“Sometimes things are just meant to be,” she said. “We’ll go from one Fort to the other.”

Mr. Hamblin said converting the former bank into a restaurant “is really not as hard as everybody would imagine….

The Glens Falls National Bank branch closed in 2011. The Hamblins said they are buying the building for $215,000. Chronicle photo/Mark Frost
“We don’t have to make a whole lot of changes. We’re not eliminating walls, we’re just kind of opening up walls. It will be basically almost the same size we had, and almost the same layout.”

One thing the couple says they can’t move is the bank’s vault.

“The vault door probably weighs about two and a half tons, so getting that out of there without a crane is near impossible,” Mr. Hamblin said.

“That will stay for nostalgia,” Mrs. Hamblin says.

As for the food, “Pretty much everything that was on it we’re going to keep the same,” Mr. Hamblin said.

“We’re super excited,” Mrs. Hamblin said. “We just can’t wait to get back to what we do.”

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