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The building housing the former Montague Bar and Restaurant is slated for a major face-lift under plans reviewed Monday by the historic district commission.

Commissioners also recommended final approval for facade renovations to the Sweet Shop building.

Yan Duong is converting the former Montague into Sogo Fusion, a restaurant serving Japanese, Chinese and Thai cuisine and sushi. Architect Steven Glickman reviewed plans to convert the building's front into outdoor patio seating.

A sloped entrance to the front door would be leveled, the glass display windows removed, and a door to the left of the front door converted to the new main entrance.

The front door's existing configuration is too narrow for a restaurant, Glickman said. And the use of glass "gets you into the restaurant before you get into the restaurant," he said.

Duong said most of the interior work is complete. She hopes to open in October. City council on Sept. 27 must approve a certificate of appropriateness for the plans reviewed Monday.

As for the Sweet Shop building, commissioners reviewed final restoration plans for the building's facade, which stretches from the NTX Wireless store on Northampton Street to the Caramelcorn Shop on Centre Square.

Commissioner Jeff Martinson asked project architect William Dohe to consider restoring the glass transom above the storefronts. Dohe questioned whether the existing glass was in good enough shape to salvage, noting it is not energy efficient.

The commission settled on restoring the transom in the stone building containing the Carmelcorn Shop if enough usable glass is available. The property is two separate buildings.

Eric Nolan, who represents the owner, said the building will eventually contain six two-bedroom apartments on the second and third floors. Work on two apartments is complete and a third should be finished by Oct. 1, he said.

The owner is marketing the first-floor retail space to attract a high-quality restaurant tenant like neighboring River Grille, Nolan said. A restaurant would feature outdoor seating on Centre Square, and the architect has discussed folding windows for the former Sweet Shop.

Storefronts and signs for the existing tenants -- Carmelcorn, NTX and Garden of Easton -- will not by altered as part of facade improvements, Nolan said.

Reporter Edward Sieger can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it