The 405, your home away from home

LACONIA — When thinking about trying a new restaurant, many diners start with Facebook and online review sites. With the 405 Pub & Grill, the profile that emerges is one of comfort, where the staff, menu and owners work together to make the guests feel at home.

In addition to providing a warm and welcoming atmosphere, the 405 is dedicated to creating satisfying and delicious dishes. The attention to quality has led owners David Henrick and Yvette Imhof to make homemade marinara and Alfredo sauces, meatballs, and hand cut onion rings. Burgers are hand packed. Steak tips are cut and marinated in-house. Salads, sandwiches and brick oven pizza are all made fresh to order. The restaurant recently rolled out an all-new menu, keeping the old favorites while adding many new items.

The 405 Pub & Grill opened in October 2013, just down the street from Henrick and Imhof's first restaurant venture, Lakeside Famous Roast Beef. Lakeside was created in a building left vacant when a Dunkin' Donuts moved across the street. Similarly, the 405 opened in a building that was vacant for years, having once housed the Galley Restaurant. The restaurateurs gave the place a complete interior overhaul to provide its updated look and their own personal touch. This year, they opened Lakeside 2 near the Weirs Beach traffic circle.

After successfully launching Lakeside, created to replicate their favorite sub shops in the Boston area, Henrick and Imhof wanted the 405 to be Laconia's friendly neighborhood pub. To keep their patrons coming back, rotating specials are featured throughout the week. Monday, enjoy a classic burger and beer. Tuesday, half-priced pasta and pizza. Wednesday is wing night. Thursday, happy hour all night and buy one entree, get the second half off. Friday features seafood specials and live music. And on Saturday, prime rib and live music. The king baked stuffed lobster is available on Friday and Saturday nights.

The new menu retains many items familiar to diners who have already visited the 405, such as the volume-leader steak tips as well as Dave's personal favorite Crema Rosa, a pasta dish with sweet Italian sausage and homemade meatballs topped with a blend of the 405's Alfredo and marinara sauces. Among the additions are a new selection of burgers and salads, and a 22-ounce porterhouse steak. New pasta offerings include chicken piccata, chicken marsala, shrimp scampi and lobster mac and cheese.

You won't find Henrick or Imhof asking the staff to do anything they won't do themselves. They treat the staff as family members, with respect. After a few years, they've cultivated a core group of managers they can rely on to take care of their patrons: Andrea Foster, co-general manager at 405, Jamie Foster, co-general manager/bar manager at 405; Brennan Hobbs, general manager at Lakeside. Along with Henrick and Imhof, the team meets to run the day-to-day operations and analyze each past day. Their motto, "to be better today than we were yesterday."

How was it named? The restaurant's address is 405 Union Avenue. Once you know the name you can find the food. The phone number is 524-8405 – once you've eaten at 405 you'll know who to call.

Henrick left a successful corporate career behind to move with Imhof to the Lakes Region, where they had vacationed for decades, to start a second career as restaurateurs. Both natural "people persons", their restaurants have quickly become go-to places for locals.

The 405 Pub & Grill is open Monday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.