New Boothbay Harbor restaurant Craft Kitchen and Tavern opened officially after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce July 7. Owner Chef Rick Koplau and wife Anita welcomed guests into the 204 Townsend Avenue restaurant at 4 p.m.

After the ribbon was cut, Rick disappeared into the kitchen to prepare appetizers while Anita flew back and forth from the bar to guests. The Koplaus’ eldest child Sophia, 10, seated guests and took orders as siblings Victoria and Finley fetched menus.

Rick said the restaurant has been in the works for over the past two months and, though his family and staff have shared many ideas on how it should look and run, the end goal was opening. Anita said she had always wanted the family to open a restaurant.

“(Rick) was always hesitant about it, but I finally got him to a point where he said alright, let's do it. He runs it, he loves it and it's his passion.”

Not much has changed about the Koplau kitchen. Rick runs it with the same dedication he has run other kitchens, most recently Spruce Point Inn. “We've been around the rest of the country, we've moved a lot with hotels and then the military and we also spent some time in Europe. (Anita) is from Germany.”

After several vacations to Maine, the Koplaus decided around three years ago to settle down in Maine for good. About two years ago, they knew the right place in Maine was here on the peninsula.

“We loved it,” said Anita. “We wanted our children to grow up here because we liked the pace of everything, people are friendly and it seems like a very safe area … We said alright, that's it, we're staying here in Boothbay.”

The Koplaus have been in the region over a year, bought a house in Edgecomb off River Road and all three children attend Boothbay Region Elementary School, less than a five-minute walk from the restaurant.

Said Rick, “Yes, it’s home now. We’re growing roots.”