Fenwick Hospitality Group sells all three Princeton restaurants

Jim Nawn, owner of the Fenwick Hospitality Group, has sold his catering business and all three of his Princeton restaurants — Agricola, Cargot and The Dinky Bar — to a restaurant group based in northern New Jersey.

The deal is still being finalized and ownership will transfer midyear. The Harvest Group of Morris Plains plans to operate the three restaurants with the same names as they have now. All current restaurant staff and management team members will be transitioned to the Harvest company, according to a spokesperson for the Fenwick Group.

“I am proud of what my team and I have accomplished since 2013 in establishing these restaurants. Princeton is a special community and it has been a privilege to serve our guests,” Nawn said in a written statement.

Nawn said the Harvest Group is a family-owned restaurant company that shares a commitment to local communities and designs its properties around local, seasonal food and wine and spirits. Owners Chip and Cheryl Grabowski have had their eyes on the Princeton area for expansion, and Nawn said in his statement that they are eager to join the Princeton Restaurant scene.

“The Grabowski family and I share a commitment to a transition of people and restaurants that will continue and build on what we have started,” Nawn said in his statement. He did not elaborate on why he decided to sell his restaurants and did not respond to an email seeking comment

In October, Nawn closed down his latest restaurant, Two Sevens Eatery and Cantina. At the time he said the restaurant concept for the space located at 277 Witherspoon Street next to the AvalonBay apartments would be redesigned, and a new restaurant would open in the spring. The Witherspoon Street property is owned by Herring Properties.

16 Comments

  1. What’s going to happen to the open space that was Mainstreet. That was closed to open Two Sevens and that closed It seems something is going on with this group

  2. I miss Main Street/Clock Tower and what they were–very good local, casual, dependable, reasonably priced, friendly staffed venues with plenty of free parking. Certainly unlike anything in Princeton today. Two Sevens was the wrong restaurant in the wrong location.

  3. Hopefully the new owners will abolish the practice of bartenders measuring liquids with the accuracy of the Princeton Chemistry Department.

  4. Fenwick destroyed Main Street, a neighborhood restaurant. Welcome to capitalism. It destroys everything in its path.

  5. The sale is not a surprise to some people. About two months ago I heard the alleged backstory regarding the owner’s intention to sell the restaurants.

  6. My bet is that they bought Main Street just to get the liquor license and the catering client list and never had any intention of keeping a restaurant open at the Shopping Center. And now they turned around and sold those again to make more money. What a shame, we miss Main Street!

  7. The Main Street/liquor license thing is pretty well established fact at this point, I think. Wondering what the “other” backstory (the one involving the sale of these restaurants) is.

  8. Jim tragically lost his wife not long ago. Maybe he decided it was time to make some changes in his life. Let’s thank him for upping the game in Princeton’s dining scene and look forward to the new owners bringing the type of food and hospitality found in Danny Meyer’s restaurants (their inspiration, the Grabowski’s say, for getting into the restaurant biz)

  9. Will the new establishment honor a gift card from Fenwick Hospitality that my children bought myself and my husband as a Christmas gift that we planned on using for our Birthhdays in September and October.

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