WINSLOW — A new eatery opened Friday in the former Lobster Trap & Steakhouse on Bay Street that serves everything from soup and salad to burgers and steaks.

Rex’s Riverside Grill is offering takeout meals for now as owner Jeffrey Daigneault is renovating the dining area and deck with plans to start offering indoor, sit-down dining in late winter or early spring.

“The Lobster Trap used to be a seafood restaurant that also offered steak,” Daigneault said Thursday. “We want this to be a steakhouse that has seafood. We’re going to put the emphasis on steaks.”

He is developing the business in phases and the second phase will be a dining room located in the same area the Lobster Trap dining room was. The third phase will be a pub at the north end of the building.

“We do have the deck and we’re going to try to fix it up,” Daigneault said, adding that it is structurally fine but needs some spiffing up for dining.

Daigneault graduated from Winslow High School in 1990 and then attended Maine Maritime Academy, where he studied engineering.

“I’m an engineer — I used to work offshore,” he said. “During COVID I got out of that and did general contracting a few years.”

Three years ago, he bought the 21 Bay St. building at auction and 1 1/2 years ago, he started working on it. The business has two parking lots, with 28 spaces on the south side and 30 spaces on the north.

His wife, Kelly, a teacher, and daughters Hannah, a college student, and Emily, a senior at Winslow High, are working with him in the business. He has a dozen workers so far, including cashiers and those who work in the kitchen.

Open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday for takeout, Rex’s is named after the family dog, a 6-year-old golden retriever, according to Daigneault. He said one of the reasons for using that name is that he thinks people will be more likely to remember it.

Word has spread quickly. Daigneault said that last week, two days after he posted about the eatery on social media, about 800 people were following it and by Thursday, that number had doubled.

“People are excited and they’re curious about it, so we’re excited about that,” he said.

A full menu is listed on the grill’s website, RexsRiversideGrill.com and its Facebook page, Rex’s Riverside Grill. Patrons may call 207-503-8926 for takeout orders.