Aside from peeling paint and weather-worn facades, the effects of a brutal winter have faded from the downtown area. Restaurants and shops are emerging from the year’s slowest stretch – almost as fast as people stripped off cold-weather clothes for a few days earlier this month. Merchants and restaurateurs hope to rebound from what was generally considered a lackluster 2025. But contrary to the online missives of people who declare the business district in perpetual decline, there are encouraging changes happening along Main and Court, as well as their side roads. Viewed from above street level, it looks like downtown is evolving, not devolving. The cornerstones of ye olde Plymouth remain, but something new is being built on top of them.
Here’s a look at some recent changes.
Bossy Beans
Bossy Beans is a baby and children’s boutique that leaves me no choice but to use the word “cute.” In the best possible way.
The tiny space at 64 Court St. on the northern stretch of downtown was formerly occupied by the also adorable Heyday Supply. The new store is owned and run by Lucina Rowe, who longed for “more of a creative outlet” after earning a master’s in marketing and working in “corporate tech.”
The idea for a retail business began to sprout after Rowe had her third child in 2022. Bossy Beans was born as an online-only shop, but after displaying some of her products on the local holiday fair circuit, Rowe discovered the “joy” of meeting customers face-to-face.
“I like to see and talk to people, so I realized I needed to have my own store,” she said. “I get audible gasps when people walk in – it’s so sweet.”
The gasping is likely prompted by the carefully curated inventory. Bossy Beans is pretty much the antithesis of Old Navy and Baby Gap.
“The clothes all come from small businesses, and the vast majority are US-based,” Rowe explained. “Most of it is ethically made, whether that means material like bamboo and organic cotton, or it’s a fair-trade kind of situation.”
Bossy Beans also sells related products such as child-safe makeup, paint sets, and books.
“We have a little bit of whimsy here,” Rowe said.
The clothing collection includes organic cotton baby body suits emblazoned with fun sayings (“Hi, I’m New Here”), rompers, tights, shirt-and-shorts sets, and floral-patterned cardigans. The prices are surprisingly affordable, especially considering the quality. This is not disposable clothing.
“You are going to find what I call heritage quality design,” Rowe said. “These are things that you’re going to want to hold on to and pass down to other generations.”
The shop, which opened in November, is an especially big hit with grandmothers, she said.
Rowe described the mindset of the typical customer from that demographic: “They’re like, ‘This is my first grandchild. My daughter is the one that’s carrying and bearing the child and I’ll be damned if I’m going to have my grandchild in anything less than the best for the first few months of their life.’”
Her husband grew up in South Plymouth, but Rowe is a transplant from Phoenix. She’s been living in the area for more than a decade.
The store is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays, but she plans to expand those hours.
John Carver Inn
When Bruce Percelay’s Boston-based Mount Vernon Company bought the John Carver Inn for $14 million last year, he promised a complete makeover of the 82-room hotel. Dated and lacking the amenities most travelers expect for mid-range accommodations, the John Carver survived in recent decades only because of its proximity to downtown and the waterfront.
Percelay knew turning the place around would be a challenge, but “we move mountains,” he said during a recent phone conversation.
“There was so much deferred maintenance,” he said.
The massive overhaul began last year and accelerated in January when the Summer Street hotel was closed to the public. Some tradespeople made it home for winter, sleeping where they worked. The hotel reopened to the public earlier this month, even as renovations continued.
“We’ve made major improvements to the building, both from an infrastructure and aesthetic standpoint,” Percelay said. “The building had not been properly cared for and we made some, uh, discoveries.”
No bodies in the walls? I asked.
“That would’ve been the easy part,” he said.
Percelay didn’t disclose how much Mount Vernon is investing in the John Carver, except to say “we are spending a significant amount of money. We’re in this for the long haul.”
He detailed a long list of fixes and upgrades – some completed, others still on the punch list – starting with the lobby. First impressions count, and the hotel’s tired old entrance way did not make a positive one. I’m trying to be polite.
“It was terrible,” Percelay said. The man does not mince words.
“But you would not recognize it now. You’d think you were at a high-end hotel on Nantucket.”
It’s no coincidence that Mount Vernon happens to own two of those on the affluent island – 21 Broad and the 76 Main Ink Press Hotel.
I took a stroll through the lobby last week to see for myself. Perecelay is correct – any sign of 1980s décor has been eradicated.
“And we’ve totally redone the pool area,” he continued.
That included the model Mayflower water slide, which did not appear seaworthy.
“It was in just perilous condition,” he said.
Other upgrades include a new gym, breakfast room, conference room, function room, parking lot, roof, and HVAC systems. A 55-foot American flag on a pole, accompanied by nautical flags, is coming soon.
“We have done the heavy lifting,” Percelay said. “Now it’s going to be common area hallways and some work to rooms” in need of upgrades.
One major change still in flux: An in-house restaurant to fill the space formerly occupied by CJ’s Bar and Grille. Percelay expects to have that finalized in June. He wasn’t ready to go into detail but told me the owners – who live in Plymouth – have industry experience in the Boston area.
“It’s going to be a dramatic upgrade,” he said. “We have pretty much gutted the restaurant.”
Percelay realizes the hotel’s prominent location – just off Main Street and across from what promises to be a beautifully restored Jenney Pond parkway – makes it something of a landmark.
“A decaying John Carver does nothing for this town,” he said. “Conversely, a hotel that people take pride in is going to be a big plus. And we are well on our way.”
Promise Keeper Coffee Co.
Let’s get this out of the way straight off: Promise Keeper is not associated with Promise Keepers, a conservative Christian group that promotes men as household leaders and opposes same-sex marriage. Among other controversial statements, its founder called homosexuality an “abomination of almighty God.”
Not the kind of message that makes you long for a latte.
Adding to the confusion, the new shop at 46 Court St. – near Bossy Beans – promotes itself as “rooted in faith and understanding.”
But according to owner and founder Manda Doughtery the perceived connection is a big misunderstanding, one she did not anticipate when she settled on the name.
“I didn’t even know about the group,” Doughtery told me recently. “Then I looked it up and I was like, ‘Really, guys’? First of all, I’m a woman owner, I’m a female. Number two, my name could mean thousands of things. It could be a promise kept to myself, to my husband, to my children, you know?”
So you don’t need to find faith to get caffeinated? I asked.
“No,” she said. “I do have faith. I believe in Jesus Christ. That’s it. I don’t have an ‘s’ on my name.”
This may come as a letdown for conspiracy theorists, but Doughtery said the name was plucked from a line in Leland’s 2019 cover of the Christian song “Way Maker.”
“I thought it would be cute and catchy,” she said.
That one letter, however, has caused Dougherty plenty of stress. In the less than two months since Promise Keeper opened its doors, she and her business have been attacked in emails and online reviews written by people who say mixing religion with coffee isn’t their cup of tea.
They ask, “What is faith-based coffee?” she said. “I didn’t say my beans were brewed in faith. I said I am a person of faith, and [Promise Keeper is] a safe space for people. I want to bring more light and joy into this world by sharing that. Not everyone has to hate each other and be ugly.”
It’s clear Doughtery feels blindsided by the misconceptions. The criticism has been, as they say in world of professional sports, a major distraction. But her frustration is offset by the brisk business the shop has been doing. In addition to hot and cold coffee drinks, matcha, chai, and hot chocolate, it sells baked goods and pre-prepared sandwiches. The space is clean, modern and well-lit.
“For every awful human being who wants to try to knock me down, there’s a multitude of more people who are coming in” to drink coffee and hang out, she said.
“Coffee brings people together, it brings a conversation. It’s just a warm environment. I wanted somewhere where people could feel homey without being at home. I feel like the world’s in a really terrible place, and sometimes people just need to feel like they have somewhere to go. I wanted to create a safe space for people, not just for coffee and family and friends and conversation, but for book clubs and prayer groups, and baby showers.”
The shop’s hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., seven days a week.
Dougherty’s background could be a story unto itself. She’s lived all over – from Boston to New York City to Savannah to Florida. She’s been an actor, a dancer, a singer, and a yoga instructor. She worked from home for a decade, doing online marketing for various mom-centric companies. Her last job, helping to run a firm that sold lactation massagers for mothers having trouble breastfeeding, ended with a layoff about a year and half ago after new owners took over.
“I got to raise my kids and still work,” she said of her time at home. “That was always important for me. I wanted my kids to see me work. I wanted them to see that mom provided, too.”
The death of her brother-in-law brought Doughtery and her family to Massachusetts, and at the suggestion of her husband, to the South Shore.
Post-layoff, she said, “Everything I applied for, nothing was fitting, nothing felt right. I did side jobs. I tried to start a couple little brands, but nothing was really feeling like it.”
Doughtery’s husband nudged her into the coffee business, using the “no time like the present” strategy, she said. But it took her five visits to “see the vision” for the 46 Court space.
“It needed a lot of work,” she said.
But that work’s been done and despite the small batch of haters, the opening weeks of Promise Keeper have been “awesome,” Doughery said.
”Everyone single person is welcome in my space, [including] these people who have made up lies about me. I don’t have an agenda.”
Amen.
Café Brio
From the day the Su Casa abruptly went dark last year, there has been speculation about what building owner Rick Vayo would do with the restaurant space at 30 Main St.
Vayo’s company, Megryco, has been behind the revitalization of several prominent downtown properties – including the nearby Plimoth General Store and Bamp’s Toy Vault. The developer has been vocal about his mission expand the commercial district’s roster of businesses.
After cycling through options for filling the Su Casa void, he settled on Café Brio, “sort of an upscale breakfast/brunch place with small bar,” Vayo said. “It seemed like the perfect fit for downtown.”
The café will be run by Lori Anderson and her daughter Amanda, who recently left the Air Force. They’re aiming to open by the end of May. Lori owned a bar and restaurant in Connecticut for five years, as well as one in Western Massachusetts that – like so many others – went under during the pandemic.
“We were really thoughtful about what we wanted to put in downtown Plymouth,” Anderson said. “There are a lot of really good Asian restaurants, and I didn’t think we needed another Mexican restaurant. We’re well represented there. But for sit-down breakfast, there aren’t really a lot of options.”
From 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, Café Brio will serve mimosas, sangrias, and other brunch-appropriate beverages, along with “specialty coffees” and food, including waffle browns – “like a mashed potato that’s grilled to perfection in a waffle iron” – and “signature” dishes like stuffed waffles and pancakes.
“Those will be kind of over the top,” Anderson said. “We have blueberry and strawberry cheesecake. We have salted caramel and banana. We also have a Brio board, which is a brunch board that features mini waffles or pancakes, eggs your way, some meat options, and deviled eggs.”
For lunch, the restaurant will feature “elevated BLTs,” which she described as “like a BLT that has bacon, but also a fried egg in it. “
“Elevated grilled cheese,” she said, will be similar to French toast “with the cheese of your choice inside that, and bacon as well.”
If this is making you hungry, but also concerned about elevated cholesterol, Café Brio will offer “gluten-free and vegan options,” too.
“I’m excited to use my creative kitchen skills and do something a little bit different, a little more fun,” Anderson said.
For Vayo, finding the right tenant at 30 Main St. was crucial. He’s convinced downtown is on an upward trajectory and is keen on avoiding anything that might slow progress.
“We want see an eclectic mix,” he said, and Café Brio is a welcome ingredient.
“If I want to take my grandson to get a quick egg sandwich somewhere, there’s that spot,” he said. “If someone else wants to go out and have a fancy breakfast or brunch or lunch, there’s now going to be that spot as well. Some [restaurants] are upscale, some are family oriented, some are quick. At some you can sit for an hour and a half. Cafe Brio fits that mold perfectly to fill in some of the gaps.”
Next up for the developer (while work continues on The Drew, the boutique hotel he’s building on Chilton Street): Filling the adjacent space that was home to the troubled Proof 22. The failed bar and restaurant, which served mediocre food and attracted an army of motorcyclists on obnoxiously loud bikes, turned out to be a huge headache for Vayo.
“We’re very close to signing a lease that will really compliment the current offerings and brings a highly experienced restaurateur into the heart of downtown,” he said. “We need a mix of restaurants and an active bar scene, but just not anything over the top that creates problems for downtown.”
If you’re a new business owner – or are planning to open a business in town, email me the details at mark@plymouthindependent.org.