By Tom Spoth tspoth@lowellsun.com
LOWELL -- A North Andover resident plans to open a Thai restaurant downtown, in the Kearney Square building currently occupied by The Sun. Steven Ramirez, 39, would be the first occupant at the location, slated for conversion to retail and residential space after the newspaper moves next month to the American Textile History Museum building on Dutton Street.
Lowell developer John DeAngelis said Ramirez’s restaurant, tentatively named Blue Taleh (“taleh” means “ocean” in Thai, Ramirez said) will hopefully be one of a few eateries to move into the building. DeAngelis said he is also in negotiations with a tenant to occupy space on the second, third, and fourth floors that look out onto Merrimack Street. Nineteen large condominiums are also planned upstairs, in the back of the building.
Additional retail space is planned on both sides of the building, facing the Eastern Canal and Prescott Street.
Ramirez wants to buy as much as 5,000 square feet on the ground floor, with an entrance on Merrimack Street. He envisions Blue Taleh as seating between 70 and 120 people, with a martini bar and a menu that includes both Thai food and Japanese dishes such as sushi. He expects to close the deal in early April and open sometime this summer after renovating the space.
Ramirez said his family has a long history in Lowell and his mother grew up in the city, but he has never lived there. He became interested in opening a restaurant in Lowell after hearing stories of the city's recent revitalization. Before settling on Kearney Square, he looked at a few different spots, including a nearby location on Merrimack Street that is now home to the Mandarin Kitchen, a Chinese restaurant.
Ramirez said he hopes to draw business from theater-goers at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Blue Taleh will be open seven days a week and will be open at night.
"We hear complaints about nothing being open late," Ramirez said.
Ramirez is in the real-estate business. His wife's family owns Thai restaurants in Kingston and Boston.
This story appeared in the Lowell Sun on Saturday, February 17, 2007