Here are the restaurants that opened and closed in the Taunton area in 2022

If the restaurant business is all hustle and bustle, and ever-evolving, so is the local restaurant scene.

Whether you run a traditional sit-down place, a takeout business, a café, bakery, bar, food truck, you name it, feeding hungry customers demands passion and commitment from those who pursue this line of work.

This year, the dining scene around Greater Taunton expanded with some new and interesting additions, from coffee to Mediterranean food and Cape Verdean confections.

Local food reviews were also popular in 2022, thanks to a Taunton woman’s Instagram venture.

The ramifications of the pandemic also continued to have an impact on local restaurateurs, some of whom continue to deal with staffing issues.

This year the Gazette also explored a bit of the city’s past food scene, trying to trackdown the whereabouts of a beloved old diner.

And there were goodbyes in 2022 as well, as some local restaurant owners passed away this year.

The Taunton dining scene also ended the year with the surprising closure of a beloved local business.

Saying goodbye to Mike George, Colonial Do-Nut, and Eddie Odney

After more than 70 years, Colonial Do-Nut Shop, a local fixture in Taunton, closed its doors at the end of 2022.

It had already been a tough year for Colonial: co-owner Mike George died at age 73 in February.

Mike and his brother Bob ran Colonial, which was co-founded by their father Fred George in 1951.

Then, as 2022 came to a close, the lights were turned off and a sign was placed in the front windows that simply read: “Thank you.”

In a Dec. 15 Facebook post, Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh and the Taunton Police Department congratulated “Bobby George and the Colonial Do-Nut Family on their retirement. Colonial Do-Nut has been a bedrock of the community for generations and a strong supporter of the Taunton Police Department,” they wrote. “We wish them a healthy and well earned retirement.”

Eddie Odney, owner of and chef at Taunton’s Acadia Seafood & Bar, also passed away in Feb. 2022.

Odney was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin T-Cell Lymphoma in fall of 2020, and after more than a year of treatment and hospital stays, he died on Feb. 6 at Dana Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center in Boston. He was 43.

In his short time as a local business owner, Odney gained a reputation as a passionate chef.

His wife, Kinga Lulis-Odney, said he worked tirelessly to make his dream a reality, but that he was first a family man and a loving, attentive father to their 2-year-old son Jordan.

“He was a great person, a great chef, a restaurant owner, but I want people to know Eddie was an incredible father,” Kinga said in an earlier interview with the Gazette. “He loved our son. He was a wonderful father, all the way to the end… and a great husband.”

Family recipes and speakeasies: Taunton dining scene expands

Some of the city’s newest eateries are celebrating their pasts.

Grilla Greek Kouzina, owned by Fall River residents George Tambasidis and Olta Joxhe, features recipes from Tambasidis' grandmother, Stavroula Vantsouris. Located where the Dunkin' Donuts once stood on Broadway, Grilla Greek Kouzina features traditional favorites as well as new flavors: a mix of grandma’s recipes and the couple’s travels around Greece. In addition to Greek specialties, they’ve got their own little secret: their Grilla sauce. Ingredients classified.

Guchanya Pastry also serves up a mix of traditional sweet and savory treats and contemporary confections. Opening in 2022 on the site of the former School Street Bakery, Guchanya owner Maria Miranda told the Gazette when she opened her shop that it was the fulfillment of a childhood dream she had in Cabo Verde.

Sweets at Guchanya include everything from cakes to cookies and maple bacon cupcakes. On the savory side are empadas, a stuffed dough with various fillings that’s popular in Brazil. Be sure to bring your appetite, because they’re also serving up sandwiches and meals.

Sweet and savory:From Maple bacon cupcakes to empadas — New School Street bakery has a 'lot of good stuff'

Over in Raynham, a newcomer with a refreshing take on a name opened up this year: Seafood & Cones. It’s clever because what you see is precisely what you get: seafood, and cones! They’re located on Broadway and offer a menu full of summer favorites. But let’s be honest — as New Englanders, we could go for seafood and ice cream all year long.

A new speakeasy opened up downtown this year, and no worries, you don’t need a password to get in. To get into The National Charter 957, simply go through its Knotty Walk entrance, located off Taunton Green/Main Street. Owned by City Councilor Christopher Coute, the speakeasy has a 1920s vibe with a modern flair, and although it’s just getting started, they’ve got big plans, like bottle service and private functions.

Taunton restaurants change hands, names

The diner at 19 Taunton Green went through some changes in 2022, but rest assured it’s still a diner. The Off Broadway Diner is now Mimi’s Diner. Tammy Joyce of East Taunton and Dawn Pettey of Middleboro took ownership of the diner in October of 2021, and they spoke to the Gazette in May of this year about what they planned on keeping, and what changes they would be bringing as Mimi’s Diner. The setting remained, and some of Off Broadway’s Portuguese classics, but naturally Joyce and Pettey planned to put their own spin on the place.

Another downtown eatery changed names and hands this year, as Maria’s Place recently opened at 67 Main St. Located in the former Stephanie’s, Maria’s Place is a “family operation” serving breakfast and lunch, for now, with the addition of a dinner menu and pizza if things go well. Stephanie’s owner Stephanie Connors closed up shop due to injuries sustained in an auto accident; Marie Malberg is leasing the space from Connors. She said Connors has been nothing but supportive. Malberg will be leading this venture while her father, Orestis Frazis, who has owned restaurants and pizza shops, does the cooking. If things go well, Frazis plans to introduce pizza muffins to the menu, and he hopes they’ll catch on in Taunton.

Coffee and pastries sweeten local food scene

Have you tried a Quinny yet? You can try one at Society Coffee Bar, which opened at 260 Broadway early in 2022. Owners Keith and Debra Viveiros named the Quinny, an iced coffee milk treat, for their friend, Mike Quin. They’ve got everything a coffee aficionado could ask for, as well as grab-and-go items if you’re picking something up while you are out and about.

Over in Rehoboth, it was a pretty great year for bakeries.

Rehoboth Baking Co. was a neighborhood secret, but the cinnamon rolls were too tempting to be kept a secret for long. Operating out of a converted garage in a quiet Rehoboth neighborhood, Chef Paul Booras founded Rehoboth Baking Co. as a father-son venture with his son Will Booras earlier this year.

When Booras spoke with the Gazette in September, this father-son enterprise was open on Sundays, with a changing menu based on customer requests, and what the chef would like to create. It might be a Sunday thing for now, but Booras said he hoped to expand in the future.

Sweet treats:Rehoboth Baking Co — with its monster cinnamon rolls — is a neighborhood secret, sort of

Confectionary Designs, at 462 Winthrop St. in Rehoboth, does everything from exquisite custom wedding cakes to apple cider doughnuts. Owners Executive Pastry Chef Mark Soliday and Bakery Manager Marie Soliday created their own stepped-up version though, to stand out from the crowd, and the doughnuts have been a hit. The bakery features other seasonal creations as well, with lots of pumpkin offerings in the fall, with a “commitment to quality ingredients, skilled execution and fresh-daily products.”

Food markets, food trucks shake up Silver City

The city’s no stranger to places that try something a little different.

Many restaurants are also offering a market these days, and Real Brazil Restaurant and Market on Tremont Street is no exception. Chef Andreia Mourao is serving up churrasco (Brazilian barbecue), offered as part of a buffet. While Real Brazil has been in operation since 2021, the churrasco was a 2022 addition. Real Brazil owner Alan Martins also offers a market, so hungry customers can grab everything they need in one stop.

And then there were food trucks.

Hometown’s Tacos Locos started offering street tacos and other authentic Mexican cuisine in Taunton in March. They hit the ground running and have never looked back. Run by brothers Omar Cruz and Ricardo Cruz, along with Omar’s son Omar “Angel” Cruz, the truck on Route 44 soon became a hit, and a fixture at local events. Now, Hometown’s Tacos Locos is on Broadway, outside HomeTown Furnishings.

Another view of the local restaurant scene: Workers and reviews

As robust as the restaurant scene around Taunton is, it has also suffered from the impacts of the COVID pandemic. From the early days of the pandemic when everyone was trying to navigate “the new normal” to 2022, when staffing continues to be an issue for some eateries. Like with any issue, it has affected some local restaurants more than others. As Dough Licious Pizza owner Bill Russell told the Gazette in September, “we can only keep chugging along.”

Another important aspect of the dining scene for local foodies is always restaurant reviews. If you’re looking for a place to grab a bite in the city but can’t quite make a decision, Taunton’s Veronica Lopez has got you covered. She runs the @goodgrubma page on Instagram (she’s on TikTok too), sharing her meals and experiences around Greater Taunton and beyond. She even offers food suggestions and personalized recommendations.

Where is Hickey’s Diner? We’re working on it, but you can help the Gazette find it

In 2022, while putting together a historical piece about Taunton’s beloved lunch wagon landmark, Hickey’s Diner, the Gazette opened what turned out to be a can of worms.

In pursuit of what happened to the diner after it closed, it turned out that the diner was, for all intents and purposes, lost. The trail runs cold after a restoration project done in Rhode Island, but we are chasing down whatever clues we can find. Hickey’s Diner was once a huge part of the local dining scene, and if we can’t bring it home, we are hoping we can at least find an answer. If you have any leads as to its whereabouts, send us an email at newsroom@tauntongazette.com.

Taunton Daily Gazette/Herald News copy editor and digital producer Kristina Fontes can be reached at kfontes@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton restaurants that opened and closed in 2022