After city officials ousted burger joint Dotty Dumpling?s Dowry of 25 years to make way for the Overture Center on State Street, Dotty?s owner is working to reopen his restaurant downtown.

Owner Jeff Stanley said he wants to reopen either east of the Capitol or at the former Black Bear Lounge at 319 Frances St., next to the Nitty Gritty. His attorney is pulling together the leases Monday and hopes to sign one lease within the next 10-12 days.

Stanley said he must borrow $300,000 to reopen his business, and the city has done little to compensate the loss of his location 17 months ago. He said the city paid him over $586,000 for the building and the fixtures, but he spent close to $250,000 on moving costs, employee salaries and lawyer fees, and he is taxed on the money he acquired involuntarily through the sale of his building.

?When the big boys come to get you, you don?t have a pot to pee in,? Stanley said. ?Your voice is drowned out by all the power and the money.?

Stanley also said he is ?scared to death? that his plans to reopen will fall through, and he is worried the police and the Alcohol License Review Committee will not allow him to sell alcohol on campus.

?I?m just praying I can communicate to these guys that this is not a gin joint,? Stanley said.

He said developments like the $100 million Overture Center are driving up property values, creating another obstacle to his business. He said prices are ?absolutely nuts,? and the prices he formerly paid of $2600 per month have escalated to $6-7,000 per month for property downtown.

According to the Overture Foundation, Stanley pursued legal action against the city in late 2000 to prevent the condemnation of Dotty?s after he agreed to undergo condemnation proceedings and received several offers from the city to purchase his property for more than 15 percent of its appraised value. The city also offered Stanley $30,000 and the money to fund his move.

In response, Stanley announced he would accept no less than $1.5 million for the property in early 2001 after accepting $583,680 for the city?s purchase of the property. When Dotty?s was not vacated after the deadline imposed by the city, a judge denied Stanley?s request to remain on Fairchild Street.

The 400,000 square foot Overture Center will expand in the next year to eventually fill the entire 200 block of State Street. Radical Rye and Madison Masala are the next in line to vacate the block by April of 2004.

A Radical Rye manager said the deli will be ?the last thing to go,? and they plan to relocate in the campus area if possible.

The Overture Center?s opening of the initial phase of construction work, which includes Overture Hall and the rotunda amphitheater, is slated for mid-2004. The remaining second phase of construction will begin in January 2004, and the entire project?s completion is set for December 2005.