Forum.RttP{Railroad Tavern sold to new owners who hate Metal Shows over an $18 debt}

Frome the Kenne Sentinel.

New owners take over Railroad Tavern in Keene; hope to open a sports bar

Two friends imagine a watering hole in Keene where college students and young professionals can go to watch the Super Bowl or the World Series on big-screen televisions without loud music or other distractions.

It’s a place lined with televisions so if one customer wants to watch a college basketball game, another can catch a spring training baseball game. And the walls are decorated with sports memorabilia.

Ben Fournier and Nick Leighton say they’re going to make that happen.

As of last week, Fournier, 27, and Leighton, 29, are the new owners of the Railroad Tavern downtown. They aim to transform the business into a sports bar and change its reputation in the community.

“The Railroad Tavern is done,” Leighton said. “We’re wiping out the name and the reputation.”

The two friends, who are originally from the Lake Winnipesaukee area, are hoping that Leighton’s father will also be an asset.

Leighton’s father, former NASCAR driver Brad Leighton, is also an owner.

“We’re hoping to use his face and name to promote the bar,” Fournier said.

Leighton and Fournier said they weren’t sure why the previous owner, Nick Massucco, sold the business to them. Massucco owned the bar with his father, Ron Massucco, for about three years. Attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.

The bar is closed as the new owners complete renovations. Signs outside Friday said “Top Secret,” and “Under New Ownership.” The inside of the establishment is now fairly empty, as the walls and bar are stripped. Leighton and Fournier plan on repainting the inside, fixing up the outside, installing televisions and more
The pair have always dreamed of opening a bar and have previous experience working in bars. Fournier worked at the Railroad Tavern while he was a student at Keene State College.

They envision a business with 20 televisions so friends can come to watch sports. Eventually they plan on getting the NFL and MLB packages, so customers can watch games they don’t normally get on local stations. Right now, Fournier said, there’s not really a place in Keene where people can go to solely watch a football or baseball game.

“Keene needs a sports bar,” Fournier said.

The 4,000-square-foot building will still have space for live music and DJs in the back room once in a while, the new owners said. Music will include everything from reggae to country, they said. They also plan on upgrading the food menu.

Leighton and Fournier said they hope to draw a different clientele and deter any troublemakers.

The Railroad Tavern has had a checkered past.

The tavern was at the center of a 2010 investigation that led to the state liquor commission’s chairman, Mark M. Bodi, being stripped of his leadership role and reprimanded. He was accused of forcing the return of evidence seized during an investigation into whether the tavern over-served a patron in 2009 after allegedly being pressured to do so by Rep. Daniel A. Eaton, D-Stoddard. Then-owner Randy L. Filiault surrendered his liquor license in the state and agreed not to seek another for five years. All denied wrongdoing in the case.

As recently as last month, a Brooklyn man was accused of stabbing a Keene man at the establishment.

The two friends are keeping the bar’s name under wraps, but said they hope to open by late August, in time for the Keene State College students’ return to campus.

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