Locals and visitors alike will be glad to learn Thistle Inn, which closed in June, will re-open next March when WAVES owners Jenny Chen and Ian Ronan take over the restaurant at 55 Oak St. with Chen as business owner and Ronan as head chef. 

Next April, Florin Iuga, who operates Brisetto’s Second Cup coffee shop, will also take on the operation of neighboring WAVES restaurant, assisted by Garry Stewart.

According to Chen, discussions with Thistle owner Max Ross began in late August when he reached out to Chen and Ronan to see if they had any interest in taking on the restaurant. After checking it out and some negotiation, agreement was reached within the past two weeks.

Chen said when she visited the Inn, she felt the same as when she and Ronan first saw Ebb Tide. “I knew I wanted to do it and when I want to do something I’ll make it happen,” she told the Boothbay Register. “So I let Max know.”

Chen explained she came to Boothbay Harbor in 2014 after graduating from college. She met and married Ronan and in 2015 they took on what had been the Ebb Tide restaurant after changing its name to WAVES. For the past seven years, they have operated the restaurant with Chen owning both the WAVES building and its neighbor which houses Brisetto’s Second Cup. Chen said the business is “Great.”

Iuga, who owns Brisetto’s with partner Garry Stewart, said, “We will re-open WAVES in mid-April and try to keep everything the same, because people want to come back to WAVES.”

“I realized I wanted to do this and I’m ready for the next step,” he explained. “Thankful to the community; Boothbay Harbor is like a big family.”

Between now and Thistle’s planned re-opening in March, Chen said there is a lot to do. “We’ll start with brand new kitchen equipment, painting the interior, re-setting the bar and purchasing supplies like utensils, silverware, plates and other items.”

The restaurant will focus on ingredients and presentation, she said. Chen wants to offer fine dining with food at a reasonable price.  

“This area has a variety of restaurants, but is missing good food, nicely presented. The kind of place you can go on a weekend and know for sure that you’ll have a good time and a special night.”

Chen also said she plans to continue “early hours” at Thistle’s pub, a popular local gathering place.