When Martha Lawton took down the exterior signs of the former Yantic River Inn earlier this year, she says she received many inquiries about what was happening at the West Town Street location.

The restaurant, once a popular dining spot especially among older residents, had closed at the end of June 2019, after what Lawton says was a downturn in business.

In its place has arisen Celebrations at River’s Bend. The event venue hosts weddings, bridal and baby showers, post-funeral gatherings, and other similar functions.

Lawton is Celebrations' general manager, with about 45 years in the restaurant business. She says the new business’s name makes sense, since management “wanted to keep the river name, yet let people know it was no longer the Yantic River Inn. There’s a bend in the nearby river, and celebrations are what we’re promoting.”

Lawton grew up in nearby Scotland. She has been in the restaurant business since her school days, eventually running a restaurant on Newbury Street in Boston, when she decided to move back to the Norwich area.

At the time, she thought “I’d never be in the restaurant business again, but here I am.” She says a mutual friend told her to apply for a bookkeeping job at the Yantic River Inn, which had recently been purchased by businessman Franklin Grussy. Lawton’s previous restaurant experience led to her having a larger role in the business, and she was essentially the G.M. when Grussy’s newly renovated Yantic River Inn opened in February 2012.

Unfortunately, business wasn’t good, Lawton said. She says Grussy’s decision to keep the Yantic name “might’ve been our downfall, since the restaurant’s reputation had suffered under previous owners” who had let the place get run down.

Says Grussy: “I thought at first there would be a lot of goodwill associated with the Yantic River Inn name, but a lot of those former loyal customers had passed on. Plus, society’s tastes had changed.”

Lawton says the restaurant “just wasn’t profitable.” Efforts to bring in dinner theatre, comedy nights, and other entertainment weren’t successful.

Lawton says part of the problem was that customers weren’t eager to drop some coin, including cover charges.

“We gave it our all, it just wasn’t the right fit,” said Lawton.

Grussy and Lawton say at first they didn’t know what to do with the building when the restaurant closed.

“The day-to-day restaurant business had become too costly, with too many uncertainties,” said Lawton.

Step in Norwich-based event planner Debby White Palmer, who proposed turning the business into an events center.

“She’s been instrumental in the direction we’ve been going in,” said Lawton. “She’s been terrific.”

Lawton says they began booking small events in June, under COVID-19 restrictions. “There’s been a very good response. We’re now fielding two to three e-mails and phone calls per day, which is great considering the current economic climate. We’re already booking into next year.”

Celebrations at River’s End doesn’t have a kitchen staff. People wishing to book the facility and have food served can bring in their own caterer, or choose one from a list provided by Lawton.

Anyone wishing to use the building’s kitchen facilities can do so, for an additional fee, and a signed waiver.

“If I don’t have to deal with the food, and they have a caterer, which will pay me to use my kitchen and refrigerator, then it’s a win-win,” said Lawton. The facility does offer a full bar and bartending service.

Celebrations is currently limited to 100 people for indoor events under state COVID-19 regulations, but larger gatherings have been held outside. Normal indoor capacity for the building is 200.

Lawton says most of the events that have taken place so far are baby and bridal showers. She says the site is especially suited to small weddings, noting the ceremony can be held outdoors, with the reception either inside or out.

“This seems to be running quite well,” says Grussy. “Running a restaurant is a grueling business. This is something different, something outside the box.”

“I am pleased. It’s uplifting,” agrees Lawton. “It gives me a whole new outlook on working.”

For more information, call Celebrations at River’s Bend at (860) 887-4300.

Kevin Gorden lives in Norwich.