Chris Maraganis, right, owner of The Village Inn, with his son, Nathan Maraganis, center, and cook Victor Rojas (DRACUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PHOTO)
Dracut has plenty of great food establishments. Casual, family-friendly, upscale – whatever you’re hungry for, Dracut has it. But where can you go if you’re looking for a haunting experience to go along with your prime rib or steak tips?
Only at The Village Inn, 544 Broadway Road, can you catch a possible glimpse of a ghost.
Even owner Chris Maraganis, somewhat of a skeptic when it comes to haunted happenings, has admitted to a creepy encounter or two in the historic building.
The Village Inn, housed in a building that dates back to 1880, is Dracut Economic Development’s Business of the Month for September 2025.
The Village Inn, back when it was known as Black North Inn (COURTESY THE VILLAGE INN)
The Village Inn is steeped in Dracut history. It was known as the Black North Tavern in one of its earlier incarnations (Broadway Road was then known as Black North Road), and the land where it was built is rumored to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad, the network of safe houses designed to help escaped slaves make their way north.
It also is rumored that it housed a brothel once, back when folks looked the other way at such undertakings.
Nothing quite so exciting happens these days at The Village Inn. Just really good food at really reasonable prices.
“Quality is number one,” Chris said. “Don’t mess with the quality. That’s one of the biggest factors to success.”
Back to his roots
Chris was working at The Village Inn in 2006 when then-owner Kevin Mace asked if he was interested in buying the restaurant. He had graduated from Greater Lowell Technical High School, then from Southern New Hampshire University’s culinary program. After college, he “did the corporate thing” and worked for the 99 Restaurants before working at the former Jimmy’s in Methuen and then at Princeton Station in Chelmsford.
But he returned to his roots, having worked off and on at The Village Inn since he was about 14 as a dishwasher, busboy, waiter, cook and manager.
Owner seemed like the next logical step. His granduncle Nicholas Spaneas owned the Windsor Mills Restaurant in Dracut (now Lenzi’s Catering), and another uncle, Charlie Zografos, owned several restaurants in Lowell over the years. Chris’ father, Charles, was a teacher at Dracut High School, and Chris attended Greenmont and Dracut Junior High before attending Greater Lowell Tech.
The Village Inn, it turns out, has been a starting point for many future restaurateurs to get their start. Rob and Danielle LaFerriere at Sweetheart Inn, just over the line in Methuen, Warren and Amanda Flanders at Garrison’s in Billerica, and Frank Jason at Princeton Station all cut their teeth at The Village Inn.
And Chris knows that although The Village Inn is one of Dracut’s most popular (and well-reviewed) restaurants, there is plenty of solid competition in town for people’s dining-out dollar. So he tries to keep prices down and quality up.
“Dracut has tons of great places,” he said. “It has different styles of pizza, all of it good, high-end Italian, more family-friendly Italian places, Owen & Ollie’s does a beautiful job over there at the mill. It’s a tough business. It’s not easy. But the employees become like family, and the customers are like family, too.”
Repeat customers
Like any other business, The Village Inn was hit hard by the pandemic. But Chris said his regular customers were key to survival.
“We have a ton of regulars,” he said. “When the pandemic hit and everything came to a halt, the community kept things going. The support from the people in town – Dracut has great people. I can’t thank the community enough. Without the community’s support, it would have been much different.
“We were already established, so we were able to make things work. There were lines of cars for takeout, people waiting patiently, and everyone coming together. There were ups and downs, but the ups definitely outshined the downs, that’s for sure.
“We have a great community. I mean, look at Dracut Old Home Day and the other events the town puts on. I’ve had the privilege of serving the people of Dracut for almost 20 years, and it’s been an honor.”
Chris actually credits the pandemic for making him realize he and his staff needed to scale back the restaurant’s hours.
“We used to be open Monday through Sunday, 11 to 10, every day,” he said. “Now we’re closed Mondays, and we’ve reduced the hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, to 3 to 9. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we’re open 12 to 9. We basically cut the hours in half. It gives everybody a chance to have a life. This business takes a lot out of you.”
Folks on various social-media sites have been kind to The Village Inn with their reviews, especially when it comes to the prime rib, an Inn specialty.
But Chris is quick to point out that the steak tips might actually be the top dish. Oh, and don’t forget the seafood, another big seller, delivered fresh from the coast every day.
The Village Inn also offers function rooms to accommodate events for parties of 15 to 90.
Nearing two decades as owner of The Village Inn, Chris admits to pondering a life beyond restaurants.
“You know, I’ve owned The Village Inn for going on 20 years, so I’m not going to lie and say I haven’t been thinking about an exit strategy,” he said. “But then I think, what else am I going to do?”
And there is a possibility that The Village Inn remains in the family, as Chris’s oldest child, Nathan, is working at the restaurant and appears to enjoy it. So there’s a chance the family won’t give up the ghost.
Spectral sightings
Ah, the ghosts. We can’t forget about them.
Chris had always heard the stories of specters spooking workers over the years. But he says he had his first possible run-in with one shortly after buying the business.
So is The Village Inn really haunted? Dracut’s own ghost hunter, Ron Kolek of New England Ghost Project, has spent some time in the restaurant and will return on October 10 to host “Dining with the Dead.” The night will include a talk by author and “Mistress of the Bizarre,” Varla Ventura, plus dinner, for $59. For more information on Dining with the Dead, visit www.neghostproject.com/DiningDead.htm.
Who knows? Maybe you’ll see a poltergeist while eating prime rib?
For more information on The Village Inn, call 978-459-4114, email info@villageinndracut.com, or visit www.villageinndracut.com.
