Water Street Cafe to remain in current location under new ownership

LACONIA — For a time, there were plans to tear down the Water Street Cafe and replace it with a new apartment building. The restaurant would live on, albeit in a different location, but this plan was ultimately scrapped when the owners sold the establishment to their nephews, Ethan and Oliver Roy.

“Water Street’s not going anywhere, everything is staying the same, we’re just going to bring some new energy into it,” Oliver said. “We took it over Sept. 6, 2022, from my aunt and uncle, Ted and Jen Roy. They’ve had it for 34-plus years.”

As for the future of the restaurant, the brothers were excited to fulfill a lifelong dream of theirs.

“There’s nothing more satisfying than putting out a plate that you created, all the ingredients, came up with all that stuff and you ask someone ‘How is it?’ and they go ‘Oh man, this is amazing, this is incredible,'” said Ethan, who has worked in the food industry since he was a child. For the past three years, he worked in Water Street’s kitchen.

According to Oliver, Ted and Jen were getting ready to move on from the restaurant business and were considering a wide array of options, one of which was a deal to sell the building and lot to a developer and put housing in its place. The plan went far along enough to be approved by the city planning department and would have included 14 units.

Planning Director Dean Trefethen was not aware that the deal was off until contacted by The Sun for this story.

“I was not aware of that,” Trefethen said. “If they decided to not do the apartment, which is fine ... they don’t have to take any set actions.”

Oliver speculated the deal wasn’t going to be viable due to high construction costs and a family-first attitude.

“Family is everything,” Oliver said. “I think [Ted] just wanted to see the legacy continue. We had an opportunity to take it over and fill their shoes.”

Ethan said he wanted to own a restaurant since he was a young kid. He describes his brother Oliver, an engineer, as "great with numbers."

Ethan brought Oliver on board initially to help with the business side of the operation after a vacation together. Once Oliver started working, Ethan realized he needed some extra help in the kitchen and introduced his brother to a brand new work environment.

“I was working a 9-5 just sitting behind a desk all day, just staring at a clock waiting to get out of there,” Oliver recalled. “When you’re in a kitchen it’s high paced, you’re having fun, hanging out with cool people, listening to music and the day just flies. You’re cooking food, so it’s a lot more enjoyable.”

“He got so bored with engineering I convinced him to quit his job that he spent $100,000 on a degree for,” Ethan joked.

“Honestly, we have an advantage compared to what Ted and Jen had before because we can both work the kitchen,” Oliver said. "Ethan can actually get a day off and I can cover the back of the house for a couple days, and then I have my two, three days a week where I take care of everything in the back office like taxes, payroll, anything else that falls in between. We can focus on hammering out awesome specials and keeping high-quality food coming out of that window.”

As for the food, Ethan says he wants to do a lot more “fresh, new and fun” dishes that will bring new customers but keep the diner’s “cozy” character.

“For example, for the lunch special this week, I had a homemade pot roast that I sold out today on the first day running it. People were just loving it.”

Ethan emphasized that before major changes come, they’re looking to transition into their new ownership role and stabilize.

“Right now we’re huge on taking one step at a time, let’s get our debts covered, pay off everyone we need to pay off and do some improvements,” Ethan explained. “Next summer people are going to see a brand-new covered outdoor seating section, with fans and decorated with plants. We’re also looking to expand the kitchen.”

Oliver added they have no major immediate changes coming to the menu. Instead, Ethan will employ his culinary creativity in weekly specials.

“We’re extremely excited to be part of the rejuvenation of the Laconia area,” Oliver said. “As young owners, I know we have to earn our respect, but it’s a small community. As a young person, not everyone always respects you as a business owner, but I think we have a bit of an edge coming from this area, being local kids, I think the community is able to rally behind us a little bit.”

The brothers said they wish to get involved with the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction as well as start catering for the local high school football and basketball games.

“It’ll definitely come with time,” Oliver said, “We’re starting with the little things that Ted and Jen did and we’ll expand from there to really show our support back to this community that’s shown us a lot of support.”