Owners of The Spot, New Restaurant on George St., Hoping to Open by End of Month

The caulk guns and utility knives were still out on the counter Monday afternoon, and workers were reporting to continue the installation of a 12-foot exhaust system in the kitchen.

Above, new, modern-looking fixtures lit up the room.

Below, new flooring was waiting to greet customers.

On the walls, there is new wallpaper and a large map of New Brunswick complete with a you-are-here marker.

And everywhere else, new tables and chairs.

Things are taking shape inside 380 George St., where co-owner Mohammad Popal and his crew were working hard, so this new restaurant can open by the end of September.

He explained it's called The Spot because the food really hits.

"We're trying to make it like a nice, cozy, classy type of vibe," Popal said.

"You can't see it right now, but we even have a TV there with a fireplace," he added, pointing toward one end of the dining room. "Come and sit and ­- kind of like a café. People like to go to cafés and sit. So this is kind of different. Maybe people will come by, have a meal."

Popal said The Spot will stand out among the other downtown dining choices because of its menu, which will feature chicken and lamb over rice platter bowls with a variety of toppings and sauces, along with smash burgers, Nashville hot chicken sandwiches, loaded fries, wings, chicken tenders and loaded waffles.

And then there's the unique bring-your-own chips, we'll-load-them-for-you option.

"It's bring your own bag of chips, and we fill that up with your type of meat and all the toppings you want, with our signature sauces," Popal said.

Among them is the aptly named Spot sauce, which Popal describes as tangy rather than spicy. It's also used on the restaurant's smash burgers, which he said have become another bestseller. The menu also includes beef-bacon smash burgers.

Popal likes that The Spot can change with its customers. The restaurant regularly introduces limited-time items and takes feedback on what diners want. One recent addition was loaded hot dogs with the same kinds of toppings customers can get on the platters.

The Spot already has five other locations in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maryland, Popal said. The New Brunswick restaurant will be the first in New Jersey, with plans to expand throughout the state.

For Popal, bringing the brand here is something of a homecoming.

He grew up around New Brunswick and attended Rutgers' Newark campus, where he studied accounting. At the same time, he was working at his father's restaurants in Jersey City.

His father had operated stores there for about 20 years. Popal's childhood friend, meanwhile, grew up around his father's store in New Hampshire and eventually created The Spot brand.

When his friend asked Popal to bring the concept to New Jersey, he jumped at the opportunity.

He expects his customers to come from various sectors of the city, from Johnson & Johnson workers on their lunch break, to Rutgers students discovering some of the downtown dining choices to local residents stopping in for the chicken and lamb over rice dish.

And as the final construction work nears completion, people walking along George Street are already wondering when they can get inside.

Popal said people regularly stop when they see the sandwich-board sign outside.

"Everybody's asking, 'Is this your place? What are you guys going to sell?'" he said.

Story & Photo Credit: Chuck O'Donnell