On Jan. 18, the doors of the Center Cafe in Boothbay will close for the last time. There will be no specials on food or fanfare about the close, according to owner Steve Gottlieb.

“We've never been splashy or anything other than what we are,” he said. “It will be a quiet closing.”

On Christmas Eve in 2014, a deal closed between Gottlieb and Boothbay Harbor Country Club owner Paul Coulombe to purchase the property.

“My primary incentive in purchasing the property involves an access road into and out of the country club,” Coulombe said. “However, that area will not become part of the country club.”

“One behalf of everyone here, I would like to thank everyone in the community, both year-round and summer people, for their support and patronage,” Gottlieb said. “We've had a really wonderful time serving the people of the peninsula.”

The Center Cafe was built in 1797, and used to be located at the memorial park in Boothbay. According to Gottlieb, the building was the original parsonage for the first church in Boothbay. He is hoping the building with be dismantled instead of demolished so pieces with value can be reused.

“Steve Malcolm (of Knickerbocker Group) will notice the historical value the building has,” Gottlieb said. “He's far too sensible a man not to.”

According to Malcolm, he is “all in favor” of saving pieces of the building that have value to be put to good use. He hasn't been inside the building to inspect it yet.

Coulombe said he has bought many properties around the Boothbay Common area. He eventually plans to demolish them all, but is in “no particular rush” to do so. He said until the road is built, he may create additional parking spaces for the events that take place on the common.

“Traffic can be very dangerous there with people crossing (Route 27) and all the various turns, especially at the gas station,” Coulombe said. “My primary objective in everything I do is to make sure traffic flows safer. I also want everything to look aesthetically pleasing and benefit the town.”

“I think when (Coulombe) is done, it will be beneficial to Boothbay and to the region as a whole,” Gottlieb said. “Everything he's done is in good taste and he has the town's best interests at heart.”

Gottlieb said what he will miss most about running the Center Cafe are the patrons. As for his future plans, he will be taking a couple of months off to complete projects his wife has been asking him to do around the house, before he either starts a new business or takes a position with an existing one.

“I've reinvented myself a few times; I'll do it again,” Gottlieb said.