Mel's Place is finally open.

After four months of people poking their heads in the door of Mel's Place asking if they were open yet, Chris Graham and Michele Green can finally say “yes.”

The wood fired pizza restaurant, in the building that formerly housed the Moosehead Coffee Shop at 1 Howard Street in Boothbay Harbor, has been in the works since May.

After spending last winter at Green's father's house in Phippsburg, Green said she and Graham began looking for houses to buy in the Boothbay area.

“Buying a house was our ultimate goal.” They looked at several houses, and then saw a sign in a window that read “Turnkey Restaurant for Lease.”

“We peeked in the windows and talked about what we'd have to do.” Graham said.

Green said she has been a fan of the Boothbay Harbor area for as long as she remembers.

“I used to come to Wells with my mother and to Phippsburg with my father. We always came to Boothbay when I was in Maine. I loved it here.”

This is the couple's first restaurant, but Green, from Billerica, Massachusetts, said it comes naturally.

“I've always worked in restaurants or kitchens in some capacity,” Green said.

Graham, from Raynham, Massachusetts, was in warehouse and distribution management before taking on the pizza business.

“It was really always what I wanted to do,” Green said. “My mom always wanted a restaurant, and I always wanted to help her. Then she passed away and never got to do that, so this is for her.”

Green's mother, Melody Green, died unexpectedly in 2012. The restaurant is named for her.

“She was my best friend,” Green said.

There was a lot to do before they could open a restaurant.

“We decided to start from scratch. We tore down the counter and built our own bar. We did everything ourselves.”

“Everything” included building the pizza oven. They mixed all the concrete by hand in the driveway.

“We built it ourselves,” Graham said. “It comes as a kit. Two thousand pounds of refractory concrete and terra cotta, and 15 easy steps. It only took us three entire days until 2:30 in the morning, each day.”

The oven will heat up to 950 F, making pizza cooking time fast — around two minutes.

The business is now up and running. “We're ready to go,” Green said.

“Everything is made fresh on location,” Graham added. “We make our own dough and sauce. We make our meatballs and bread our chicken (with panko) and make our own salad dressings. Nothing comes in processed or frozen, and we try to keep it as local as possible.”

Besides pizzas, Mel's serves sandwiches, salads and a few appetizers, and beer and wine. They are open for lunch and dinner.

The restaurant will remain open through the winter, seven days a week through Columbus Day, after which they may cut hours.

To reach Mel’s Place, call 207-315-6243.