Fall River's new Towne House restaurant expanding with private cigar club, jewelry boutique, function hall

FALL RIVER — The owners of Towne House Restaurant are expanding the offerings at the Purchase Street venue.

Jenny Fernandes, owner with her father, Barca Restaurant owner Luis Bettencourt, said plans for the second floor are moving forward. Those plans include a private club that offers its members a place to smoke cigars, a jewelry store boutique, a wine and cheese lounge and a function hall. And for brunch lovers, Sunday brunch will be starting this weekend in the ground floor restaurants, Douro Steakhouse, X Café and Towne House Tapas and Oyster.

Though they’ve had a sign in Towne House previewing an upcoming cigar bar to bring attention to the new private club, Fernandes said it will operate like other private Portuguese clubs in the area that allow smoking, rather than a club devoted to cigar aficionados. Fernandes said they decided to do a private club after hearing lots of requests for that type of club from their customers at Douro Steakhouse. It will also give them a place to do different types of fundraisers. “We want it to be versatile where we could have a cigar dinner as a fundraiser. It’s a different opportunity for the clientele who wouldn’t go to a typical fundraiser to give back,” she said.

There will be membership fees and the number of members will be limited. Because there will be smoking, she said they have a separate entrance from the outside at the far right of the building on the side facing Purchase Street, it has a proper ventilation system and there are double doors at the entrance to further prevent the smoke from seeping into other parts of the venue.

Using pre-COVID-19 seating estimates, she said the capacity would be about 50, but she needs to measure out distances to determine how many people the club will fit with COVID-19 social distancing.

Also opening soon upstairs will be the wine and cheese lounge. It will be an extension of the Douro Steakhouse dining room during typical dining hours and later at night the offerings will switch to more of a lounge atmosphere with cheese and charcuterie boards and appetizers.

Fernandes, who has been in the jewelry business for 11 years, is also eagerly finishing up a jewelry boutique for the second floor that is expected to be open by Nov. 1. Fernandes’ jewelry experience includes Hannoush Jewelers, Tiffany and Company, Sullivan and Company Jewelers and more recently selling for a diamond jewelry wholesaler in Boston. In this boutique, she said she will be specializing in fine jewelry such as wedding bands, engagement rings and crosses. Fernandes will be managing it by appointment and she expects to have it open during dinner hours during the week, to offer an alternative jewelry shopping time for people who work during the day. “It’s just a different concept that I thought would work and feel more comfortable for our customers,” she said.

Vault, a function space located on the second floor on the far left of the building is also almost complete, she said. When it isn’t in use for functions, she said they will also use it for events and fundraisers.