A server takes an order during The Contented Sole’s opening at its new location in New Harbor on Saturday, May 25. (Johnathan Riley photo)
With the help of their dedicated staff, The Contented Sole owners Warren Busteed and Beth Polhemus opened the restaurant at its new location at 32 Southside Road in New Harbor on Saturday, May 25.
“There were some glitches, the kind you have when you don’t have a soft opening,” Busteed said. “It was pretty wild putting it together.”
The “soft-grand opening” was met with a maxed out crowd, according to Busteed, which was somewhat expected after all of the hype surrounding the reopening.
“We had such a following at the other spot I have a feeling it’s going to be like this all summer,” Busteed said.
Last January, back-to-back storms brought remarkably high tides and wind that caused significant damage to coastal Lincoln County. In those storms, the restaurant’s former location in Pemaquid Harbor in Fort William Henry State Park was devastated.
According to Busteed, after almost 20 years of leasing the space from the state of Maine, the damage incurred during the storms made another season at the location impossible in its current state.
However, only two days after the last storm hit in January, Busteed and Polhemus received a call from a long time customer at The Contented Sole and friend, Debbie Dodge. Busteed said he and Polhemus have known Dodge for at least 15 years, so when she offered for them to move the restaurant to her building on Southside Road it just made sense.
Dodge’s building was formerly known as Head of the Harbor, an event center, which has now been outfitted to house the latest version of the restaurant.
Busteed said renovations took at least two months, beginning in February, to get the space ready for opening day.
“Everything from the furnishing to the lighting to the commercial kitchen was a complete redo,” he said.
Patrons may recognize some materials around the new location from the restaurants previous home. Busteed said they were able to salvage the bar, some tables, and lighting fixtures.
Originally the restaurant was scheduled to have its opening day on Friday, May 24, but due to some technical issues, Busteed said they made the difficult decision to postpone and give themselves an extra day.
“We had four different subcontractors working in various ways on refrigeration issues, stove issues,” Busteed said. “It was pretty wild trying to pull it all together.”
Busteed said by noon on Friday he wasn’t “getting a good vibe,” and they had to call the 130-plus reservations to let them know the unfortunate, but necessary, news.
The building on Southside Road is bigger than The Contented Sole’s previous home and will provide the opportunity for the restaurant to be open longer than the seasonal constraints of the Pemaquid Harbor location, according to Busteed.
“This space lends itself to a lot of fall and winter events if we choose to do that, and that’s pretty unique around here,” he said.
Busteed also said that the view of New Harbor is spectacular at the new locations.
“The view makes the place,” he said. “It’s really incredible.”
While the menu is largely the same as it was at its former location, Busteed said the plan is to update it by mid-June with some new elevated dishes and keeping some of “the fan favorites.”
“We’re not going to get rid of stuff that people really like, but we’re going to elevate some stuff,” Busteed said.
Aside from the new menu, he said the challenge will be letting everyone know that the old location is no longer The Contented Sole’s home.
“We’ll need to make sure people don’t go to the old location,” Busteed said. “We’ll put a sign at entrance of the park that we’ve relocated.”
The restaurant is open 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch and then from 5-9 p.m. for dinner service Wednesday through Monday.
For more information go to thecontentedsole.com, follow them on Facebook or Instagram, call 677-3000, or email Busteed at wtbusteed@gmail.com.
