Former St. Helens restaurant owner at it again

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Retirement has been short-lived for former St. Helens Café owner Peggy Shaver, who will return to the kitchen at least part-time when she helps launch the new St. Helens Café and Pub in March.

In December, Shaver closed her popular restaurant saying she needed a break after owning the business for 19 years. The eatery, located in St. Helens’s historic Olde Town, was a staple for lumberjacks, high school kids and the town’s matrons dressed in their Sunday finery. It first opened in 1916, and had been a local institution for nearly a century.

Shaver, who started in the restaurant business as a cook in Portland when she was 20, took a job at the St. Helens Café in 1980 and bought the business in 1988. A decision by the building’s owner to nearly quadruple the monthly rent after her lease expired was the final factor in Shaver’s decision to close the door for the final time in December.

“I had just turned 62 and I really wanted to slow down a little bit – to spend more time with my family and see my grandkids more,” she said.

It wasn’t long before Shaver said she started missing all her former customers – who over the years had become almost like members of the family.

That’s why it didn’t take much begging when she was offered the chance to provide her expertise and cooking skills at a new version of her former café.

Local resident Susie Wilson, who herself has a lengthy background in the restaurant business, invited Shaver to join her in her new venture – the St. Helens Café and Pub.

The new restaurant will be on Strand Street around the block from the former restaurant and in a building that formerly housed the Bar Harbor Restaurant and Lounge.

Wilson and the building’s owner, Mike Moar, are extensively remodeling the building and are planning a March opening for the new restaurant.

Shaver said the menu will be similar to the original St. Helens Café – quality food and fresh ingredients prepared homestyle and at reasonable prices.

Shaver said she’s “anxious to get back and see all the familiar faces”.