FARMINGTON — Boivin’s Harvest House has closed.
After 11 years, owners Patrick and Chong Boivin, of Jay, closed the restaurant at 367 Wilton Road on Sunday.
Customers have been calling all day asking why, Chong Boivin said Monday.
She said it wasn’t because of a lack of business; it is time for a change.
After cooking for more than 33 years, Patrick Boivin is changing careers and Chong said she is retiring.
Boivin will become a food service distributor for a company in Bangor. He will maintain accounts in southern Maine and New Hampshire.
After all those years, including 16 years of cooking at Irving’s in Farmington before opening the Harvest House, he will enjoy weekends off, he said.
As for the business site the couple owns, he said they are ready to sell or lease it.
“It is a turnkey operation. They can open the door and start making money,” he said.
The couple have developed a strong, loyal customer base over the years, highlighting dishes such as Boivin’s seafood chowder, steak tips and the “best burger in town,” she said. Chong baked all the pastries and desserts, including seasonal pies.
“It will be sad not to serve our customers,” she said, “but perhaps another restaurant will come in.”
The couple refrained from telling customers before Sunday. They thought it would be hard to plan for people coming in for the last bowl of chowder.
They stopped selling gift cards in late November. People have been upset that they were not selling cards for the holidays as they normally do, Chong said.
Calzolaio’s Pasta Co. in Wilton will honor any gift cards to Boivin’s Harvest House for those who have them, she said.
When the couple started, they were open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week, and employed up to 28 people. The last few years, they have closed on Mondays and only served lunch and dinner. The 15 employees they have now were understanding about their desire to move on, she said.
“We are thankful for all our dedicated employees over the years and the loyal customers,” she said. “It was not an easy decision, but now we’re happy. We’ve done very well, but we need a change.”
To get more information about the restaurant space, people can leave a message on the restaurant’s answering machine.
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