Stonington — Like many Stonington and Westerly residents in their 50s and 60s, Richard Mann remembers the many times when he was among the large and sometimes rowdy crowds that packed the former Rosalini’s nightclub on Route 2 to watch local and nationally known bands perform.

The club’s heyday ended in the 1990s, when it closed. Residents stopped a strip club from opening there in 2009. In 2000, a sports bar opened and was replaced in 2002 by the Fuji Gardens restaurant, which closed four years ago. Since then the property has become overgrown and vandals have damaged the inside, especially the electrical system.

But now Mann, of Westerly, has signed a contract to purchase the building and plans to reopen it as a restaurant with dinner shows ranging from music to comedy. And he hopes some of those old Rosalini’s patrons will return to a more sedate venue.

Mann said this week that a closing is imminent and he has begun work to clean up the grounds. He hopes to open by October and is looking to hire a chef and an entertainment booker.

Mann said the building seats 300 people facing the stage and still has a dance floor. He plans to offer a sit-down dinner followed by music from national and local bands such as Sugar and Eight to the Bar, comedians, magicians and other performers. He said the club would attract a “nice, 35 and older crowd,” not the young partying crowd that frequented the old Rosalini’s.

"This is not going to be a nightclub. We’ll do dinner and a show and be out by 11,” he said.

For example, he said a '50s band may be paired with burgers and fries of the drive-in era or a disco night.

He said a function room could host events and meetings and there is outside areas for bocce, volleyball and cornhole. He said he also is considering hosting art openings paired with dinner.

Mann said he has not yet decided on a name but is considering one that would harken back to the old Rosalini’s in some way.

Mann said that after he retired from Electric Boat after 20 years, he opened a car dealership and an auto repair business in North Kingstown, R.I. He said he also has bought dilapidated homes over the past 20 years, renovated them and then offered tenants a rent-to-own option.

He said he would like to replicate that here, offering a chef a chance to eventually own the business while fixing up the property into something the town and residents like. Mann said he also has been talking to town officials about reopening the club, which is a grandfathered use.

j.wojtas@theday.com