Fay's Restaurant in Dartmouth to close for renovations. Here's the plan.

DARTMOUTH – Fay’s Restaurant & Catering will close for 10 days starting Jan. 14, to allow for major renovation to its interior.

“It's something we've always wanted to do,” said Elizabeth Olimpio, marketing manager of the 60-year-old South Dartmouth dining spot.

It has been over a decade since Fay’s underwent an interior update. In 2020, the restaurant added an outdoor dining area. Olimpio said they hope these new changes will invite a younger generation to dine with them.

“They really enjoy seeing different and cool things brought together. They snap a photo when they eat. And we want to make sure our place appeals to them in that way,” she added.

Renovations will include a new floor for the lounge, dining room, bathroom and kitchen. There will also be new paint, wall covers, booths, banquette tables, coverings as well as a new bathroom and new bar tops and an updated bar area.

The menu will remain the same.

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“We’re not changing any layouts, but everything else gets a new fresh look. The colors are all different. Everything is different. Brighter and lighter,” Olimpio said, who is the daughter of the owner Evelyn Bettencourt.

Bettencourt is the daughter of Fay DiPiro who owned “The Knotty Pine” in the North End of New Bedford. In a previous Standard-Times interview, Bettencourt described Knotty Pine as the “Cheers” of the North End as well as "a family commitment to a quality home-cooked Italian dining experience.”

After retiring in 1983, Bettencourt continued to run the business until it closed in 2000, because the building was sold to a large pharmacy chain. However, two years previously, in 1998, Bettencourt followed in her mother's footsteps and decided to open her own spot in memory of her mother — Fay's.

“We're so eclectic. Our food is eclectic. We've had to meld the old Knotty Pine with Fay’s. But, we've never really melded everything together,” Olimpio said.

“We're bringing in some really cool new things for all generations. We want to make sure that we are appealing to everybody.”

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As long as everything stays on schedule, Olimpio said they plan to reopen the restaurant for lunch at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

“Fay’s is the place that everybody has had their birthdays, their engagements, they meet their friends, and it's still going to be that, but it's also going to be different,” Olimpio said.

“It's just going to have that vibe that I think was sometimes missing before.”

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Follow him on twitter: @ChitwoodReports.Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Fay's Restaurant in Dartmouth to close 10 days for renovations