Greg’s Bistro reopens in downtown Hampton after car crash: ‘Back with our family’

HAMPTON — The “Gregulars” were reunited at their favorite bar and pizzeria as Greg’s Bistro celebrated its grand reopening Wednesday, seven months after a car crashed into the building.

New windows have replaced the frontage of the building, where a driver crashed his pickup truck last fall, injuring a bartender, two patrons and his passenger. Those injured have almost completely recovered, according to Greg’s owner Hakim Said. The only thing left was to reopen his downtown bistro.

“I felt 10 years older,” Said said of the stress from trying to reopen these past several months. “Now, I’m back to normal age again. Full of energy.”

“Gregulars,” as the regulars are called, came out for a soft opening Saturday, then again at an official ribbon cutting. Cosmo shots were handed out as people toasted the return of their favorite bar, and “Gregulars” celebrated the return of Reese Carson behind the bar Wednesday after being hurt in the crash.

“I’m so grateful and thankful that she’s good, everybody that was here (during the crash) is good,” said bartender Jennifer Morin. “It just feels good to be back with our family.”

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Said has operated Greg’s Bistro at 445 Lafayette Road for the last eight years.

He said he did not expect to become personally invested in Greg’s, as he lives in Merrimack and owns a store near where he lives. He said he became engrossed in the social aspect of his pizzeria, however. He came to enjoy serving patrons at his bar where the same regulars came every week.

Last fall on Nov. 19, Said was in the eatery serving customers on a Saturday night when a pickup truck crashed through the front door, sending four people to the hospital. Police arrested Stephen Davis, 24, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, for felony driving while intoxicated and reckless conduct. Davis is currently scheduled for a plea and sentencing hearing in Rockingham Superior Court July 20.

The car injured an older couple seated having dinner, also pinning Carson between the bar and a plastic trash can that, according to Said, saved her life.

The people injured in the restaurant were recovering by the next month, for which Said was grateful.Said said in February he had hoped to open by March. That was slowed when the materials for the new windows were delayed.

As Said waited, he said it pained him to hear people ask when he would finally open again. His regulars were waiting in anticipation, visiting other bars like Britt’s Pizzeria, where Greg’s staff members were offered shifts to get by.

“I didn’t even have an answer. I felt like I’m lying to people,” Said said.

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Greg’s owner and staff got help from the community

Meanwhile, the town showed support for Greg’s. A GoFundMe page raised more than $2,600 for the staff who lost work because Greg’s was closed. The Hampton Christmas Parade also included a Cadillac with Said’s children riding in it and walkers collecting donations along the road.

Terri O’Brien-Finn, one of the “Gregulars” who started the GoFundMe, said the outreach in the past year to Greg’s has shown people care about what happens with a small-town bar.

“This place, a pizza place, has more impact on a community than you could ever imagine,” O’Brien-Finn said. “It really has shown us what a community can be.”

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Now that Greg’s is back open, Said said the menu will stay pretty much the same, although he does plan to include some new Mediterranean items like falafel and shawarma. He said his wife made shawarma for the soft opening and the dish was a hit.

Said and Morin said they have been moved by the outreach of the community. Gregulars even showed up during the construction period, Said said, to see how the progress was coming and say hello.

“The community is so loving and caring and never missed a beat in keeping up with us, and how the progress was going,” Morin said, “It really is amazing, the love and support we have had.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Greg’s Bistro reopens in downtown Hampton NH after car crash