Gouverneur's Circle Inn, sold to buyer, opening soon

GOUVERNEUR — The Circle Inn is expected to reopen as a diner within two months.

Gouverneur Savings & Loan sold the property on Route 11 for $195,000 to Somerville Assets, Antwerp, a limited liability corporation formed by Brennan R. Shampine.

Mr. Shampine said he was approached to help finance the purchase by friend Timothy S. Mulder and his wife, Heather M., who will run the restaurant. Mrs. Mulder's educational background is in restaurant management, Mr. Shampine said.

"It's going to stay The Circle Inn," Mr. Shampine said. "They expect to reopen in six to eight weeks. They're doing some work in there."

Neither Mr. Mulder nor his wife were available for comment, but Mr. Shampine said the diner's menu will be similar to what it was in the past.

The diner, a fixture in Gouverneur since 1952, closed March 29 after proprietor C. Frederick Girard ran into financial problems and became ill with leukemia. The bank took over the property.

The restaurant was started by Merton Gollaher and owned by several other people for short periods of time before it was purchased by Theresa M. "Terry" Fortune. She owned it for 17 years before selling it to Mr. Girard and his wife, Maryann, in 1985.