'Dinner and a tune-up' lives on


June 9, 2008 · Updated 6:44 PM 

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"Changes are coming for two well-known Winslow businesses, but probably not until 2008. Not, that is, unless the changes are for the better.That's the word from the Madison Avenue Garage and the Four Swallows restaurant, located on the west side of Madison Avenue between Wyatt Way and the Pavilion. The owner of that prime downtown location said recently that he intends to put a higher-density development on the property, which has suggested to some customers of the garage that the business might close in the near future.Not so, owners Garrett Haxby and Ranji Dhatt say.We have a lease through 2008 at this location, Haxby said. And we're looking at other properties in the immediate area. We will stay on the island for the long term, either here or nearby.We've had customer inquiries too, Four Swallows owner Mike Sharp said. It's no secret that the owner has eventual plans for this corner. But we have a lease, and I have no plans for moving. In fact, the owner sent a construction crew over this morning to look at repairs on our roof.The business' futures have come into question recently with the announcement of new partners in the Pavilion complex to the immediate south. Among the new investors is island businessman George Lobisser, who also owns the corner on which the garage and restaurant sit.Lobisser, Pavilion co-owner Jeff Brein and other investors have suggested that the corner could be used for additional parking, possibly underground, to relieve the woes that have nagged the theater complex since it opened last year.Lobisser said that he does plan ultimately to replace the present garage with a higher-density use, but does not have a fixed timetable, nor does he have specific plans. Once the plans are more firmly fixed, Lobisser said, it may or may not make sense to offer the garage and restaurant an early lease buyout.Lobisser said he does not plan to remove the yellow 1889 William Grow House in which the restaurant is located. Instead, he plans to restore the house, and integrate it into any development. It has a charm to it that I find quite attractive, Lobisser told the Review in a February interview. Haxby said the imperative to find a new location in fact meets his business' future needs. He and Dhatt have owned the business since 1997.We want to build an eight-bay garage, and we need more parking, Haxby said. If we can find the location we need soon, we may move soon. Otherwise, we will move in 2008.Sharp is less certain about his long-term plans. Business is going great, and we're real excited to be in this building, he said.When the lease is up? That's a long time in this business. I love the business, and I love the Four Swallows, but I've been doing it for 11 years now. So I don't have any big plans except to be here."

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