DOVER — The sisters behind Hampton’s Ginger and Clove café have added a new resumé item to their long list of hospitality industry success − opening a sports bar and restaurant.
Endzone Bar and Grill, the product of sisters Cassy Vasquez and Angelica Spinelli, opened in May in the site of the former Thompson Tavern, a Central Avenue specialty that shut down its sports bar and rooftop deck at the end of February.
Family is the focus for Vasquez and Spinelli, a longtime Castaways Boathouse bartender, in their newest endeavor after opening Ginger and Clove three years ago. Their Garrison City joint has been redecorated with new sports memorabilia, paint and flooring, and the sisters’ goal is to create a family-friendly atmosphere providing access for all to come watch sports or celebrate their own success on and off the field.
“I’ve worked in Dover for so long that I was like, ‘Oh, we should bring something to Dover,’” Spinelli said. “We wanted to bring in some good food. I wanted a family-friendly sports bar. I want people to know that your kids are welcome here to watch sports.”
“We’d really like to try to encourage team sports to come and make this their place,” Vasquez continued. “We want to be a niche in the community.”
The two first began their service industry career in New Orleans years ago, an experience that inspired a set of Big Easy twists and southern flavors to be scattered throughout the Endzone’s menu.
Appetizers and entrees don’t just mirror the usual sports bar fare. Cajun egg rolls with crabmeat, shrimp and crawfish, a zydeco salad with sweet chili-glazed fried shrimp, shrimp Po’boy, a Louisiana seafood roll and blackened chicken dishes are offered at the new restaurant, tastes of the South present amid a backdrop of Boston-themed and Dover High School sports memorabilia hanging on the walls.
Traditional dishes are also available, including nachos, chicken wings, salads, sandwiches and smash burgers. The bar includes 14 rotating beer taps and a cocktail list.
“I have a passion for food, and we have a passion for working hard,” Spinelli said.
The upstairs business will operate this summer without its coveted rooftop deck, a staple of the Endzone’s predecessor. According to Vasquez and Spinelli, they are being asked by the city to review the spiral staircase leading to the rooftop for safety reasons in the event of emergency, a need that will be revisited by the sisters next spring as they get their rookie season under their belts.
The look and layout of the sports bar has changed since the pair received the keys to the space in March. The business possesses fewer televisions than the Thompson Tavern and the sisters had the flooring renovated to mirror the look of a basketball parquet, hung up their own decorations and painted the unit.
“We revamped this. We wanted to go for more of a modern sports bar feel, make it a little more clean and fresh,” Vasquez said.
But the work required to rapidly open the Endzone would not have been possible without help from their relatives. In a space intended to welcome as many families as possible, it took a family to put it all together, a process involving spouses, siblings, parents and cousins.
“We have a good circle. Very family-owned, very family-oriented … We’re kind of bringing family together and giving them something, but we’re also dependent on them. It’s important,” Vasquez said.
Those who frequent Ginger and Clove can expect the same quality of service, food and attention to detail at the Endzone, according to the sisters.
Vasquez and Spinneli are confident in themselves and the family atmosphere they’re sharing with the Dover community.
“We’re women and we came from nothing. It was a lot of hard work but anyone can make it happen if they really put their sweat, tears and everything into it,” Vasquez said.
“We come from a pretty hard life,” Spinelli added. “Nobody had money back then, so we’re not from any money. We worked hard to build this stuff for ourselves. It means a lot because it shows our commitment and it shows what we’ve been through in our lives to now (show) where we are.”
Endzone Bar and Grill, 421 Central Ave. Dover, is open daily from 11 a.m. until 1 a.m.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Endzone Bar and Grill, a sports bar, opens in former Thompson Tavern space in Dover
Most Popular
Comments / 0