Music Returns to Loft's Old Location: Sunken Well Owners Opening Restaurant Downstairs

By PAIGE PATERNO

The Sunken Well Tavern is one of few businesses that appears considerably untouched by the slumping economy. Owners Steve Cameli and Paul Stoddard are opening their second restaurant in the next two weeks at the previous site of the Loft in downtown Fredericksburg. The name of the new restaurant, which will be located at the corner of Princess Anne and William Street, is still unreleased until the official opening.
According to Stoddard, a UMW graduate, the restaurant will be a burger bar with vegetarian options and 100 percent organic hormone-free beef.
Stoddard and Cameli plan to keep the second floor of the business open as a music venue as it was before. They will continue to host live performances from local artists as well as those from outside the Fredericksburg area.
“I think people will like it,” Stoddard says. “But you can never tell what it will become until it develops.”
Stoddard hopes that, like the Sunken Well, the local community will shape the restaurant. He does not want to solely focus on one individual group because he wants it to bring people together.
“I see everyone in here all the time; neighbors, families, students and even staff. It’s a great thing,” Stoddard said. “It really makes [the Sunken Well] what it is and I want that to happen at the new location too.”
The new location will include happy hours and meal specials. Amenities will include a 42- inch projector, multiple flat-screen TVs and available Wi-Fi. The owners plan to accept EagleOne cards in the near future.
The schedule still remains tentative. Stoddard expects the restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the upstairs venue will be open from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays. The upstairs may be open on the weekends as well.
“There’s a long history at this spot of bars and music,” Stoddard said, adding that he wanted to try to keep it going. “It’s a great location.”
For more information, call the Sunken Well Tavern at (540)-370-0911.