Jan. 6—One Middletown downtown restaurant is closing and a popular Madison Twp. business is reopening.

Nancy Griffith, who has operated Mockingbirds Cafe for nine years, including eight years on Central Avenue, is closing her restaurant and taking over former Peggy's Produce Market in Madison Twp., 380 Middletown-Eaton Road.

Griffith said the "timing was right" to change careers. She said the Middletown restaurant business became "stagnant" during the COVID-19 pandemic and during the major renovations that closed Central Avenue to traffic for months.

She expects to close Mockingbirds before her lease expires in May and hopes to reopen Peggy's in late February or early March after passing all the health inspections.

The business will be owned by Griffith, her husband, Tim; and Michael Stafford.

The produce stand will be named Aimee's.

After opening the produce stand, she may add a delicatessen. Griffith said several neighboring businesses in the township and teachers in the Madison district have encouraged her to offer lunch sandwiches.

Last year, Peggy and Larry Landers closed Peggy's that operated for nearly 10 years. They cited the difficulty hiring employees and increased prices as two reasons.

But more than those two economic indictors, Landers said, after battling breast cancer, she had a deeper appreciation of family and friends.

Peggy was diagnosed with breast cancer in July and had surgery in August. She said it appears the cancer was detected early and she's hopeful for a full recovery.