The new Ram & Bull tavern in downtown Brunswick will open Thursday, May 1, the third area restaurant launched by a Harpswell native and his wife in three years.
Formerly Joshua’s Restaurant & Tavern, the 123 Maine St. pub shuttered last September after three decades. Zac and Khristine Leeman signed a lease the following month with building owner Katahdin Property Management LLC.
The Leemans also own Sundrenched, their “seafood shack” on Bailey Island. It will resume business the first week in June. Linden + Front is the couple’s upscale restaurant in Bath, open five evenings a week.
The couple chose the name Ram & Bull because those are their astrological signs. The names also are a homage to Irish and English pubs, Khristine said.
The tavern’s hours are 11 a.m to 9 p.m., closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The menu “is our take on everyday fare,” she said. Look for burgers, beet Reubens, sticky ribs, harvest bowls and Sundrenched’s popular tuna nachos. A “juicy Lucy” burger, with the cheese inside the patty, is a nod to Khristine’s roots in Minnesota. All fried food is gluten-free.
“We definitely tried not to have the same thing as everyone else,” she added, “and we’re going to try to keep price points at a reasonable level.”
The week before opening, Khristine walked a reporter through the tavern that smelled like fresh paint and new furniture, proudly pointing to an elaborate Lucite antler chandelier over the bar. Large picture frames sport wallpaper that looks like sketches of deer. Behind the bar is a ribbon of gleaming, stainless steel tiles. The ceiling is marine blue. There are 16 beer taps and four others for cider and wine.
A British theme flows through the rest of the tavern, with gray walls, neutral-colored plaid wallpaper and brindled carpeting. New booths or banquettes and upgraded tables and chairs are in both the front and back dining areas. The upstairs will be used for reservations and private parties.
“We didn’t set out to own a third restaurant,” Khristine said. “I was cruising around online and saw the space was for lease and Joshua’s was for sale.”
“As soon as I opened the door (to Joshua’s), I had a vision of what the restaurant could be. It’s a unique space,” she said, with a second level that has an additional kitchen, bar, seating and an outdoor deck.
The Leemans did extensive renovations, including new flooring throughout. “We touched every corner of the place,” Zac said. “We realized there were structural issues in the bar, which had to be gutted.” Floor joists were unsafe and there was moisture on the bar’s back wall.
A new wooden bar with custom staining was added, and beams and new plumbing were installed. The building was constructed around 1863, and a wide brick arch separates the dining area at the front of the tavern from the bar.
Harpswell residents T.J. and Cheri Siatras had been the proprietors of Joshua’s for three decades. One of the oldest restaurants in town, the family-owned business had several names over the years.
Zac, a Harpswell native, climbed the culinary ladder in Maine, Colorado, Minnesota, South Carolina and St. Thomas. The Mt. Ararat High School graduate was a cook, sous chef and executive chef before opening his first restaurant. Khristine managed several restaurants in Minnesota.
“I’m really passionate about what I do,” Khristine said. “You realize how fleeting life is.” Sure, owning three restaurants “is a lot of work,” she acknowledged. “But everything in life is a lot of work.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article, posted Saturday, April 26, incorrectly reported that Ram & Bull had opened in late April. Ram & Bull will open Thursday, May 1.
