By Rebecca Goldfine,Staff Writer

PARIS – Market Square Restaurant is expanding, opening a bigger kitchen in the building next door and converting its former kitchen into more dining space.

“Our business is very, very good,” restaurant owner Scott Gilbert said Thursday by phone. “This winter was the best we’ve ever had. Sales were way up.”

Michael Gilbert, Scott’s brother, owns the restaurant building as well as the building next door, which is undergoing rooftop renovations.

Michael Gilbert leases the restaurant to his brother. He bought the restaurant in 1995, the next-door building a couple years later, and ran the restaurant for some years before fully turning it over to Scott about three years ago.

Their plan is to turn the bottom floor of the currently empty neighboring building into a more spacious kitchen and to rent out the top floor as office space. At the moment, this space, about 3,000 square feet, is still available. Michael Gilbert said he’s looking for a long-term contract, possibly to an attorney’s office or other professional.

The renovations will cost in the vicinity of $200,000, Michael Gilbert said, all of it privately financed.

The parking lot will also be expanded and paved. “The restaurant is so busy, they’re pretty maxed out with the business they do,” Michael Gilbert said. “On a daily basis they lose customers because there’s no parking, no place to sit, and they can’t put out food with the capacity they have.”

The dining space will increase by about 40 to 50 feet, Scott Gilbert said. The new kitchen will allow him to add more fryers and a charbroiler. The new kitchen will eventually be attached to the dining room. The project is expected to be done in about three months.

rgoldfine@sunjournal.com