G’s coming to borough

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A new G's Burgers and Carvel location is expected to open in February at 778 New Haven Road. –RA ARCHIVE

NAUGATUCK — Since a “Coming Soon” sign appeared on New Haven Road, area residents have been getting excited for the new G’s Burgers and Carvel location in the borough.

“We get questions all the time,” said George Tsioflikis, owner of the only existing G’s Burgers, in Watertown. “People are calling the Watertown location, wondering when we’re going to open, on a daily basis.”

The combination restaurant serving fresh hamburgers, hand-cut french fries and ice cream desserts became popular after opening five years ago in Watertown. After the Carvel on Rubber Avenue in the borough closed, Tsioflikis said he began eyeing the borough for a second location to replicate his success.

He and a business partner, Dyrak Gancher, bought a former chiropractor’s office at 778 New Haven Road for $435,000 and got approval from the Zoning Commission last spring to convert the building into a restaurant. They knocked down walls and are creating an interior just like the Watertown location, with an outdoor dining patio and a vinyl fence around the back to shield the property from neighboring houses.

It will sit near J & M Automotive and Walmart, which just expanded, and former Peter Paul factory land, which is being marketed for mixed-use retail development.

“When the property became available, we thought it was a great opportunity,” Tsioflikis said. “We like the fact that it’s on a busy road and it seems like growth is happening in that part of town.”

Tsioflikis said they are hoping to open the restaurant Feb. 15. Workers are still installing new doors, and plumbing and electrical work has not been completed. Plans for a sign must also be brought before the Zoning Commission.

With the new location will come jobs. Between 25 and 30 servers and cooks, part-time and full-time, will be hired, Tsioflikis said. Gancher will manager the borough branch, while Tsioflikis stays in Watertown.

Tsioflikis said the borough was similar demographically to Watertown, where people mobbed the restaurant the first day it opened, although they had done little publicity.

“We’re doing well in Watertown, so I’m hoping we’ll do well in Naugatuck,” Tsioflikis said.