Hemmeter readies to open Nick's on Millbury Street

By Chet Williamson

Let's just say it's not the typical shot-and-a-beer joint that you'd regularly find on Millbury Street. You know, like the bar that used to be there — Stoney O'Brien's — a legendary watering hole for working stiffs who drank 'Gansett by the bucket full with an occasional boilermaker on the side.

The old place was owned by Billy Collins. No, not the U.S. Poet Laureate of the same name, but this guy was no less gifted. He had a way with drinks, a master mixologist, who poured with the best of them before dying last year.

In the spring, fellow bartender Vincent Hemmeter, owner of Vincent's and Ralph's, bought the bar from the Collins family. The new room will be called Nick's, named after Hemmeter's lady friend Nicole Watson, who will be manager of the new place.

the bar’s namesake, Nicole Watson

Watson's is a familiar name in local theatre circles. Her critically acclaimed designs have been seen in such Foothills shows as The Full Monty and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. For the past couple of years, you could also find her designing drinks at both Vincent's and Ralph's.

Located at 124 Millbury, on the corner of Millbury and Ellsworth streets, Nick's is expected to open within the next week. The bar is on the first floor of a four-story red brick building built in the 1880s.

If Shrewsbury Street is "Restaurant Row," then Millbury Street is the "Big Bar Way." Drinking establishments dot the street from Kelley Square to the PNI Club. But unlike Green, Harding and Water streets in the nearby tony neighborhood of the Blackstone Canal District, Millbury Street is still largely neglected.

When asked why he chose this building on Millbury Street, Hemmeter says, "We saw the potential in it. I think [Millbury Street] has gotten a bad rap. Sometimes the reputation is worse than it really is."

Walking into Nick's, regulars of the old place will barely recognize that it was once Stoney's. It's been completely gutted and rebuilt. Much like when Hemmeter purchased Pignataro's to open Vincent's, he's tried to restore as much of the original integrity as possible. All of the paneling and plywood has been ripped out to expose wainscoting and natural wood. The tin ceiling, the bar and floor have been fully restored.

The décor can be best described as what one of the contractors called, "Eclectic Vincent." Hemmeter's familiar passion for antiques and elegant junk is apparent throughout Nick's, as well as gorgeous commissioned paintings such as Steve Toomey's stunning copy of "Le Grande Odalisque" by Jean-Auguste Dominque Ingres.

The overall effect is a quirky combination of high-brow sophistication mixed with common comfort. There is also a decidedly Germanic feel throughout. A plaque over the bar with a German expression loosely translates to: "Take care of your own home before you go hunting, gentlemen."

"Nicole and I had been talking about opening up a place that was different from both the other bars," Hemmeter says. "We wanted a place we could go to get a real German dish. We used to have to travel to Boston."

Nick's will be open six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. "We are going to have a small menu," Watson says. "It will be inspired cuisine with game. I make a mean rabbit stew."

An incredibly long bar made of red mahogany separates Nick's into two rooms. The booths in the back room were once church pews and stained glass hangs on the wall. Watson says, "We were going more for the medieval or classical themes rather than religious."

The high-back booths in the front room look like the ones that were once in the old Eden Restaurant. "I loved that place," Hemmeter says. "That was one of my favorite places in Worcester."

Hemmeter says the front window was all boarded up. "We didn't know what was under there until we took it off. It's a great window," he says. From outside, the red brick building with the sturdy black frame around its windows looks like a scene out of Ed Hopper's famous painting, "The Nighthawks."

While there is a vintage sign out front advertising Narragansett, Hemmeter and Watson say Nick's will offer much more.

Painting beneath the painting at Nick’s

"We'll have lots of German beers, of course, and European liquors," he says. "We are going to do a lot more wine here," she says. "When we start off, we'll try not to be overly ambitious." By the way, a new hand-carved sign done by Scott Riccutti of Huck will be in place by opening night.

A small stage for music and theatre was built in the back room. "We will have some live music," Watson says. "We have a handful of acts. We have an accordion player lined up. I'd love to have a little bit of that ‘oom-pah-pah' music in here."

Hemmeter says an upright piano will be placed between the two rooms. "The piano player from Walter and the Orange Ocean [Dan Burke] will be coming in," Watson says.

For 18 years, right up until it closed, Stoney's was the hang of the Worcester Rugby Team. "They have ‘drink ups.' It's up to them, but I'd like to accommodate them again," Hemmeter says.

Team president Chris Monaghan says, "When I had heard that Vincent bought the bar. I said, ‘Hey, we need a place, what do you think?" We've been going down to Ralph's and on a couple of occasions up to Vincent's. In rugby, it's tradition that the home team host the party. That's what Billy used to do for us and now that's what Vincent continues to do."

Asked what he thinks of the new place, Monaghan says, "It's definitely different from any other bar you'll find on Millbury Street." o