Tim Best is getting out of the bar business.

Seven years after opening Friday Knight Lights on Richmond St., the husband of former mayor Anne Marie DeCicco-Best is turning the establishment over to new owner Jim Ferreira, who will relaunch the place as the Grinning Gator Bar and Grill.

Best said the business is doing well, but he has looked to sell for some time.

“We were waiting for the right people to come along with the right offer and the right attitude to running a restaurant in downtown London,” he said.

Ferreira said he plans to upgrade the facade, interior and front patio of the establishment to attract a wider clientele.

He also plans to live up to the eatery’s name by offering Gator Bites, made from alligator meat, on the menu.

Ferreira said he’s working closely with Downtown London

“I’ve been searching for a place and I like the location. I want to enhance that area of downtown,” he said.

Best said he has lined up some sports consulting projects in the southern United States.

Best, 52, used to work with the Dallas Stars NHL team as a marketing manager and later became owner and general manager of two Texas Junior B teams.

Best said Friday Knight Lights will shut down after Labour Day and he expects the Grinning Gator will open a few days later.

Best said Friday Knight Lights supported the downtown community, quietly offering free turkey dinners on Christmas Day.

Best also had high praise for his landlord, Shmuel Farhi.

“He was there for me in the tough times. He bent over backwards to ensure I had every opportunity to succeed.”

Best faced his own personal crisis in 2009 after he hit a few vehicles while driving near Dorchester. He abandoned his truck, but was later arrested for impaired driving and four other charges. He was sentenced to six months in jail, but the liquor licence for the bar wasn’t revoked.

After being defeated by Joe Fontana in 2011, DeCicco-Best got a job as a government and business relations adviser at Fanshawe College.

Best said his wife appears to have no interest in returning to politics, but is constantly approached in public by supporters urging her to run.

“Our grocery shopping now takes about three hours. People keep stopping to talk to her in the aisles,” he said.

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Troubled times

Tim Best has had his share of problems at his bar-restaurant, Friday Knight Lights.