Nephews restaurant sold, House of Rage opens, nursing home project: Top stories of the week

NEW BEDFORD — Love is in the air.

Whether you’re eager to celebrate Valentine’s Day, or can’t wait to watch the Super Bowl action between the Begals and the Rams, the next couple days are very special.

As we recap the week’s biggest stories, we’ll cover all the bases.

Whether you need wings for tonight’s party, or ideas on where to make a dinner reservation, or chocolates for that special someone, we’ve got you covered. This week, we also talked with a Westport family that has a special connection to the Cincinnati Bengals.

But before the festivities begin, take a look at the stories that were most popular with southcoasttoday.com readers last week.

Nephews restaurant sold

The Nephew’s, a very successful, 26-year-old family restaurant on Crossroads Drive in Freetown, has been sold.

“We’ve been a mainstay in the community,” said Sandy Stapleton, who ran the restaurant with her husband, Ron, until his passing in October 2021.

“My husband built that place from nothing,” she said. “He was tough, expected a lot, but people wanted to please him and respected him.”

On Dec. 16, Stapleton decided to put the restaurant up for sale.

The property was purchased on Jan. 5 by Howie Mallowes, who also co-owns other restaurants such as Carmines at Candleworks and Rose Alley Alehouse in New Bedford.

The new restaurant will be called Profile Tavern.

‘A really nice testament to my husband’: The Nephews owner wishes next restaurant success

House of Rage opens in Dartmouth

Raging is all the rage at the House of Rage.

After months of anticipation, the place to get out your inner rage finally opened this past weekend on State Road in Dartmouth.

“It surpassed any possible goal that we could have set,” said co-owner Van Rodriguez.

Along with their partners, Jason Feist and Katarina Cidade, the team said they had 20 to 30 guests (aka “ragers”) attend the first weekend.

“I feel like the feedback that we’ve gotten is exactly what we were looking for,” Rodriguez said. “You had the people that you can tell that came in to release that rage. And it worked.”

That’s right: Patrons can smash glass bottles, ceramic plates, wooden tables, electronics and lamps.

Learn more about rage rooms: House of Rage officially opens in Dartmouth

Neighbors object to teardown of nursing home

 Neighbors of the former Royal Taber Nursing home don’t want the historic home to be demolished. 

But South Coast Hospitals Group does.

The Historical Commission met virtually Monday night to hear the proposal.

Attorney Christopher Saunders, representing South Coast Hospitals Group, said now that St. Luke’s Hospital has been designated as a Level II trauma center it needs the space to accommodate it. The group purchased the Royal Taber Nursing home at 19 Taber St. in 2019 when the nursing home closed and want to knock it down to construct a clinical center and a few administrative offices in its place. 

“The biggest obstacle is that the building needs to be licensed by the state Department of Public Health,” Saunders said and believed strongly the DPH would not license the old nursing home building in its current condition.  

However, an even bigger obstacle is facing the project: the neighbors. 

Learn more: Neighbors object to South Coast Hospitals’ plan to tear down former nursing home

Money for Marine Commerce Terminal

The Port of New Bedford was the nation’s highest value port for the 20th consecutive year in 2021 as announced by the National Marine Fisheries Service.  

And the city could be getting $30 million to invest in improving the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal.   

According to a news release from Sen. Mark Montigny, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Board of Directors voted to approve a motion authorizing $90 million to be spent from the Offshore Wind Industry Investment Fund created by the legislature in December 2021.  

The funding reserves $30 million to expand capacity at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal. The money is from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and state revenues that are held in MassCEC’s coffers to enhance the terminal.   

Funds headed our way: New Bedford in line to get $30 million to improve waterfront Marine Commerce Terminal

Don’t forget the TV shows

Netflix released the Portuguese series “Until Life Do Us Part” Thursday, while its first-ever Portuguese original series “Gloria” is still attracting new viewers and rave reviews worldwide.

For many Portuguese-Americans, these series are not only a great opportunity to bring more visibility to Portugal’s talents in film, but also a great means to showcase its people, landscape, history, culture and language.

And fans of the HBO series “The Guilded Age” may be surprised to see a New Bedford connection to the show: an elaborate dollhouse from New Bedford’s  Flip This Dollhouse, located on the second floor of Kilburn Mill. 

Guilded Age connection: How this dollhouse from a New Bedford shop snagged a role in HBO’s upcoming ‘Gilded Age’