SOUTHINGTON — Tavern 42 is moving from its West Main Street location in Plantvsille and could reopen this summer.

Owner Cheryl Moran didn’t disclose where the restaurant will relocate but said Tavern 42 will remain in Southington. Other than the building, the restaurant won’t change.

“It’s going to be Tavern 42, just in another location,” Moran said.

The restaurant is moving after the lapse of its lease with property owner Dean Michanczyk. The lease ended March 31 and Michanczyk filed eviction papers in New Britain Superior Court last month.

Moran and Barry DePaolo opened Tavern 42 five years ago. The couple also own Anthony Jack’s on Center Street in downtown Southington.

Sunday will be Tavern 42’s last day open to the public at its current location. Moran said she’s considering some type of special to mark the occasion.

“We’re thinking about doing a little bit of a sendoff, but it’s not going to be a goodbye, it’s a ‘See you later somewhere else,’” she said.

Moran said she and Michanczyk couldn’t agree on a lease that would allow Tavern 42 to remain.

Michanczyk also owns the adjacent Dean’s Stove and Spa along with properties across West Main Street. He opened Hearthstone, a restaurant in the same 42 W. Main St. space as Tavern 42, more than a decade ago in the former Taylor’s Grocery building.

Bryan Meccariello, an attorney representing Michanczyk, said his client wouldn’t be commenting on the matter since there is litigation pending with Moran and DePaolo.

Meccariello’s eviction filings indicate that the restaurant owners were asked to leave the building by April 10 and failed to do so.

In a response filed with the court earlier this month, Moran and DePaolo’s attorney Timothy Sullivan wrote that Meccariello’s filing wasn’t complete.

Moran said she has an agreement with Michanczyk to leave the building by the end of the month.

“Leases end and people have to move on,” she said.

Moran and DePaolo didn’t want to close permanently so they found another place.

They haven’t yet signed a lease for the new restaurant space. There’s construction that needs to take place to make it ready and Moran wasn’t sure when they’d be able to reopen. She’s hopeful that they’ll be serving Tavern 42 customers in the new location this summer.

Moran is paying her employees for two weeks after the restaurant closes to help them get through until the reopening.

“I’m hoping we’re going to be up and running soon in the new location, but we’re concerned about our staff too, we don’t want to leave them hanging,” she said. “Our staff is fantastic. Almost everybody said ‘We’re coming with you, no matter where you go.’”

Michanczyk has been expanding his Stove and Spa business in Plantsville, adding both indoor and outdoor showroom space. He also renovated other area buildings that he owns, including 57 W. Main St. where Lion’s Den Coffee Shop opened late last year.

Town and state officials are also working on a Plantsville downtown facelift and safety improvement that’ll adjust roads and reconstruct sidewalks to make the area safer for pedestrians. The pandemic delayed the start of that work. The town and state are contributing funds to the project.

jbuchanan@record-journal.com203-317-2230Twitter: @JBuchananRJ