Sundrenched owners to set ‘a modern table’ at Bath restaurant

Why own just one restaurant when you can have two?

“Life is short,” said Khristine Leeman, who, with her husband, Zac Leeman, launched Sundrenched on Bailey Island in 2022. Later this month they plan to open eatery No. 2, Linden + Front, at 244 Front St. in Bath. The building, formerly home to Salt Pine Social, is at the corner of Linden and Front streets.

The couple “never wanted to stop at one restaurant,” said Khristine. “I figured, why not do this? We’re passionate about the business and two restaurants were always in the cards for us.”

The Leemans turned their attention to Bath on a whim, said Khristine, after realizing the riverfront city had a vacant restaurant. That impulse became a reality in December when the Leemans signed a five-year lease with the building’s owners, twin sisters Eloise Humphrey and Daphne Comasky, and Daphne’s husband, Paul Comasky. The trio owned and operated Salt Pine Social and, after the pandemic, a bakery called Relish at the same site. They also owned El Camino Cantina in Brunswick for 15 years. That restaurant shuttered in 2019.

Restaurant closures don’t worry the Leemans. Khristine and Zac said they have a great staff. They expect many of their employees to work at both the Harpswell and Bath restaurants.

They’ve hired a chef for Linden + Front from the Toronto area. Alex Molitz visited Maine this past summer, liked what his friends were doing at Sundrenched, and wanted to join them.

“Lo and behold, we now have another restaurant,” said Khristine with a laugh, and Molitz will don a toque and apron in the Linden + Front kitchen. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Molitz has worked at numerous restaurants, including Daniel in New York City.

On a recent January day, Zac was refinishing shelves for the back of the bar. Gone are the restaurant’s yellow walls, newly painted dark blue-green. The yellow wooden stools are being replaced with classy cane-backed barstools. Boxes of supplies were piled in both dining rooms, but the Leemans said the new restaurant, with all new appliances, will open this month.

The menu will feature what Zac called a “modern spin” on the classics. Think small plates, wood-fired oven flatbreads, hand-cut steaks, chops, grains and vegetables. And, of course, some seafood.

The restaurant’s motto is “a modern table,” said Khristine. It will be more upscale than Sundrenched, with table service in its two dining rooms. Together, the dining rooms and bar will seat 80. Khristine described Sundrenched as a “modern elevated seafood shack,” where customers line up to order at the cash register.

And take heart, seafood lovers. Despite the twin January storms, the Leemans will continue to feed hungry folks in Sundrenched, at the end of the Cribstone Bridge. The restaurant will be back in business, although the Leemans haven’t set a date. Sundrenched is typically open from around Memorial Day through mid-October.

The back-to-back storms took out Sundrenched’s boathouse, dock and outdoor seating. Rob Williams, owner of the property, said he would do everything he could to make repairs by spring. There was no water damage to the inside of the restaurant and a contractor told him the building is structurally sound.

While shaken by the destruction along the Harpswell waterfront, Khristine said the couple “needs to focus on the positive — that we’re opening the restaurant in Bath.”

Linden + Front will be open five nights a week, from 4-9 p.m., and closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Eventually the Leemans want to serve lunch and brunch.

Zac Leeman returned to his Harpswell roots when the couple opened Sundrenched. The Mt. Ararat High School graduate has worked in kitchens in Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, South Carolina and Saint Thomas. His career has taken him from cook to sous chef to executive chef. He has opened multiple restaurants for others, but Sundrenched and Linden + Front are the first ones he’s owned. Khristine is from Saint Paul, Minnesota, where the couple met and where she managed multiple restaurants.

Connie Sage Conner is a retired editor of The Virginian-Pilot. She lives in Harpswell and serves on the Harpswell News Board of Directors.