BETHEL — A new country store featuring high-end meats, gourmet cheeses and fresh seafood is expected to open next week in the former Black Diamond Steakhouse on Sunday River Road.

Owners Rick and Ron Savage, along with their wives, Cindy and Melissa, respectively, hope to open Savage Bros. County Store at 96 Sunday River Road the first week of January.

Melissa Savage said that when they closed the restaurant in early November for the “slow time,” her husband, Rick, suggested they not reopen as a steakhouse.

“Having two restaurants (Sunday River Brewing Co. and the Black Diamond Steakhouse) was almost like competing with ourselves,” she said. They decided to open a country store, which they had wanted to do for quite some time.

After selling Big Bob’s Country Store to Irving Oil company, Melissa said Rick missed running a store and thought it might be fun to do it again.

The new store will feature hand-cut steaks, gourmet cheeses, high-end deli meats, fresh seafood, baked breads and treats, and doughnuts baked at the Sunday River Brewing Co.

“We wanted to still provide the high-quality steak and seafood our clientele have come to love,” Melissa said.

The store will also provide some harder-to-find delicacies, such as boar, elk and duck bacon.

“We plan to be open later, hopefully 11 on the weekends, for people coming into town and needing to buy groceries for their condos, but also wanted to have options for locals who want higher-end food,” Melissa said.

For now, the store will not sell liquor or beer, because the Savages own the Sunday River Brewing Co. and the state prohibits more than one off-premise retail space if a brewery is owned.

emarquis@sunmediagroup.net

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