Bentley’s has started construction on its future location, but the store will not be able to complete the move until they sell their current location at 307 Main St. West.

Although Jeremy Reed, owner of Bentley’s, said the current location has been good to them, the new location is much larger and will allow them to do more.

The current location is 900 square feet, and the new location is 2,500 square feet. The increase in space will allow Bentley’s to add an arcade, which will include a Ms. Pacman game, an air hockey table and a racing game. Reed said he is also considering adding ice cream and candy sections to the restaurant, as well as a pre-made refrigerated foods section for on-the-go customers.

“What we’re hoping to build down there is a place for people to come hang out, have a good time and spend some time with their families,” Reed said. “With a lot of the things you read online now, people are looking for experiences – they’re not just looking to just grab a bite to eat. We want a place where you can come in, play the arcade, grab an ice cream and even see your ice cream being made. I don’t think there’s anything like that here yet.”

Although Bentley’s has outgrown its current space, Reed said he remains positive about the location and offered several ideas about what could be done with it. “This has been a great location for us because of Something Blue; when they come to try on dresses, they come here to eat,” Reed said. “If somebody wanted to do a bridal shop or a bridal gift shop, it would be a good location for it. There’s great parking, and it doesn’t have to be a restaurant; the sky’s the limit. Most likely it won’t be (a restaurant). It could even be a lawyer’s office.”

Reed said he has had a couple of people look at the property, but no one has made an offer. Reed said even though the building is smaller than the rest of the buildings in that area, there is plenty of parking, and it is a good location.

“I love Main Street,” Reed said. “It’s so homey, and everybody’s close knit. I know just about every one of the business owners down here. We all talk, and it’s so fun having gotten to work with them and do different projects.”

Reed is emphatic that downtown Hartselle does not just have antique stores. “It’s the funniest thing to get on Facebook and see people saying, ‘It’s all antiques down there’ – It’s really not,” Reed said. “If they took two minutes or an afternoon to walk downtown, they’d see that it’s not all antiques. There are some fun shops down here.”

Reed said in addition to an arcade and expanded food options, the bigger space will allow Bentley’s to host new events, like the Christmas event Bentley’s hosted in 2017. “Things will change every quarter. There will be a Christmas one, a spring one, of course a beach theme and a fall theme, so that it’s not the same every time you come in,” Reed said.

Reed said he wants to provide the same quality food with a different experience at the new location.

“This place was more geared toward working people. We were open more during lunch,” Reed said. “Down there we’ll be closed Sunday and Monday, and we’ll be open until 8 p.m. every night. We’ll still be able to serve the lunchtime crowd, but we want to bring those events in so that kids can come and have a good time and their parents can have a good time.”