If you’ve been on the Russellville square in recent months, it’s hard to miss the construction going on along Main Street.

Two of the historic buildings along the street are currently undergoing construction – and when they are finished they will give the town some completely new dining options.

Deborah Hirsch announced her plans to turn the old Duncan’s Drugstore building on the corner of Main and Fourth streets into an upscale restaurant six months ago.

Construction began on the building over the winter, but Hirsch has recently seen her plans double for downtown Russellville.

When the building which once housed the Barrett print shop on Main Street was auctioned off, she purchased it with the idea of making it into a restaurant as well.

And while construction on the old Duncan’s building has taken a bit longer than expected, Hirsch’s newest project is just a few weeks from completion.

“We hope to have it open by the end of the summer,” Hirsch said. “Hopefully by September it will be ready to go.”

The new project will soon become Ariella – an authentic Italian restaurant.

“It will be casual elegance downstairs with a more romantic feel upstairs,” Hirsch said.

The downstairs will also feature the old press as a highlight of the decor, which Hirsch also purchased along with the building.

“I didn’t want to see it go for scrap,” Hirsch said. “It’s a piece of real Americana.”

Ariella, which means “Lioness of God,” will have a full menu of Italian favorites – including gourmet brick oven pizzas.

“Our pasta is going to be homemade every day – not noodles that come in a box,” Hirsch said. “Everything will be fresh. Very little of what we serve will ever be frozen.”

The food will be prepared under the watch of chef Jerry Arifi, who said his motto is “You first eat with your eyes and then you eat with your mouth.”

“This will be a true restaurant, not just an eatery,” Hirsch said.

Meanwhile, construction continues on the old Duncan’s Drugstore, but Hirsch said she doesn’t expect to see that project completed until sometime in 2011.

The construction ran into a major issue when a huge boulder had to be removed slowly bit by bit in order to carve out a new wine cellar, which will hold up to 5,600 bottle of wine when completed.

The downstairs of that building will be mainly a New York style deli, which Hirsch said will be called “Pumpernickel & Rye.”

The upstairs will be a more formal steak, seafood and chops restaurant called, “House of Duncan” as a homage to the building’s previous life as a drugstore.

Hirsch is using all local builders in the construction of the restaurants and was especially thankful for the efforts of project manager Dave Zimmerman and Morris Hostetler, who has done all the framing in both buildings.

“I’ve done nothing but write the checks – they deserve all the accolades,” Hirsch said.