Petersons mark 25 year milestone as owners of Hector's restaurant in downtown Laconia

LACONIA — While matches may be made in heaven some — like the long lasting marriage and thriving business partnership of Carl and Carla Peterson, who this month mark a quarter-century as proprietors of Hector's Fine Food and Spirits — flourish in the kitchen.

"It has been a very nice 25 years," Carla said. "We've been very fortunate to have had wonderful employees and regular customers over all the years."

Carla recalled that when she drove from Connecticut to join Carl in Laconia under a leaden sky and past bare trees on a cold, grey November day in 1986 "the tears started coming at Lake Winnisquam and I asked myself 'what on earth have we done?'"

The couple's coming to Laconia, said Carl, was "something of a fluke." In Connecticut, both worked in restaurants. Carla managed at MacDonald's while Carl, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hartford, cooked, 15 years for Howard Johnson's then for several independent restaurants. Eventually the two found themselves working not only at different places but also at different times. "Carla was working nights and I was working days," Carl said. "We had no family time. We were swapping our daughter in the parking lot."

They decided to acquire a restaurant of their own and began looking around Connecticut. In the meantime, they visited Carl's sister and her husband, who owned a home in Wolfeboro. "We happened to meet a lady selling real estate," Carl said, "and asked 'do you know of any restaurants?'"

"Downtown (Laconia) was thriving," Carla remembered. "There was St. Pierre's, now the Brickfront, but no Patrick's, no Fratello's. It was busy." She said that they replaced the kitchen at Hector's as well as redecorated and refurbished the interior without radically reconfiguring or renaming the restaurant. Carl said that they were fortunate to "inherit" Peter Cullen, who after leaving for a brief spell returned and has remained in the kitchen ever since.

They traced their success and longevity to striking a fine balance between adapting to changing preferences of customers and maintaining a consistent quality of offerings. "When eating healthy became popular we introduced lots of salads and began cooking without trans-fats," Carl said. "We went to no smoking before the law was enacted," added Carla, "and some of our customers have never come back."

On the other other hand, she emphasized that with "the same people in the kitchen day and night for most of our 25 years we've maintained consistency." Both said they have been fortunate to attract and retain excellent employees, among them Tracy, the daughter Carla drove north to visit years ago.

Carla, who relishes her role as hostess, said "I really like seeing our customers." She said that she especially looked forward to Friday and Saturday nights, the busiest of the week, when "everybody knows everybody. We have always tried to provide a place where anyone of any age can always feel comfortable," she said.

The Petersons are proud of their many contributions to the community over the years. "We have a box of small treasures full of all sorts of clippings," Carla said, noting that over the years they have regularly supported local charities with special events and gift coupons. Likewise, she said that as downtown merchants have faced the challenges of changing times "we have made every effort to support and patronize each other."

On January 18 the Petersons will celebrate their anniversary by hosting an evening to benefit the Laconia Police Department's effort to recruit a successor to Jago, the retiring K-9. "Laconia has been good to us all these years," Carla said, "and we want to celebrate by giving something back."