The Bench now open for dinner in downtown Hampton serving comfort, home cooked meals
HAMPTON — The Bench, it’s not just for breakfast anymore.
Just like the old orange juice sales pitch, Teresa Mullane is also getting the word out that her restaurant at 320 Lafayette Road is now open for dinner, as well as breakfast and lunch.
Mullane opened The Bench at the former Good Eats and Fast Eddie’s location this past April with an eye towards eventually adding a dinner service.
“It was part of the business plan, but it was mainly (envisioned) for takeout,” said Mullane, “but the guests don’t want to do takeout so now it’s both, dine-in and takeout.”
The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday and Mullane is hoping that a menu geared towards homemade comfort food, like meatloaf and beef stew, will serve as an enticing alternative to the plethora of heavy, fried food offerings in the area.
“Everyone is always trying to figure out how to get customers in and I feel that solid, comfort, home cooked meals are always the best,” Mullane noted.
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To paint The Bench as simply riding the comfort food lane, however, would not be quite accurate either. If you’re hankering for a taste of the Big Easy, Mullane has got you covered with New Orleans style entrees like crawfish etouffee which can be found both on the lunch and new dinner menu. If you’re looking for something vegan, Mullane has brought on local vegan chef Jaimie Frechette, who is already pushing the culinary envelope.
“She is coming up with some new dishes because she feels that in the community there just aren't enough places that offer something like that,” said Mullane, who also offers a full breakfast menu all day, seven days a week.
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Mullane, who got her start in the restaurant business with McDonald’s, says she is still getting the feel for the ebbs and flows of her customer base on the Seacoast, which can be very fluid. For instance, in her first week of doing dinners she was leaning heavily on DoorDash to facilitate an influx of takeout orders. The last two weeks, however, she has seen a marked spike in customers wanting to come in and eat dinner at the intimate and welcoming spot. Whether it be dine-in or takeout, Mullane feels that she and Frechette have now fine-tuned a concept that should keep the lights on at the bustling eatery for quite some time.
“We’re done practicing and now we’re finalizing a menu that is going to work for the location and we’re getting the word out there,” said Mullane.
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So far, the homemade meatloaf which comes smothered in gravy and with a side of red mashed potatoes has been the runaway favorite.
“It’s a classic recipe,” said Mullane. “It’s not fancy, it’s just like your mom’s homemade meatloaf.”
Mullane, who grew up in Georgetown, Massachusetts and lived and worked in the restaurant industry in Newburyport for quite some time, says she has been extremely touched with the way her new customer base has already embraced her and The Bench in such a short time.
“They can go anywhere, and times are tough,” Mullane noted. “I feel very honored that I’m a new restaurant and people are coming here to me.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: The Bench restaurant now open for dinner in downtown Hampton, NH
