By ROD LEE

The buzz in the neighborhood began soon after the banner was strung across the front of what was Jube’s, announcing the arrival before long of a new restaurant—Reunion Tap & Table.

Residents of the town of Northbridge and surrounding communities are hungry for just such an establishment, Sargon Hanna, an owner of Reunion Tap & Table, said on October 19th.

They may have to wait a little while longer, however. But hiring is underway.

“We are looking to open in December or January,” Mr. Hanna said. The premises previously occupied by Jube’s, in the Whitinsville Plaza on Providence Road, are undergoing an extensive renovation. The rebuild, which is being done by Paul Apkrian Architects of Westborough, involves ripping out the tables, floors and ceilings that were in place and will include the addition of a bar.

This will be a second location for Reunion Tap & Table, a companion to the storefront the restaurant has occupied on Worcester St. in North Grafton for about four years and that is doing well.

“We are looking to expand and this is an underserved market,” Mr. Hanna said. “People have been clamoring for a new restaurant, as they were in Grafton and we have killed it here. The space we are moving into in Whitinsville made sense. It’s the 2.0 version of Reunion Tap & Table, a smaller footprint.”

Mr. Hanna described the menu as being highlighted by “pizza, burgers and wings” but if North Grafton is any indication, it will be much more extensive than that—and a welcome addition to the dining scene in the lower Blackstone Valley.

Reunion Table & Tap’s mantra is “familiar food favorites and craft beers” and cocktails.

The countdown is on to the day the doors open.

Send your restaurant/food news to Rod Lee at [email protected] or call 774-232-2999.