“Yesterday’s Memories Are Tomorrow’s Treasures” is the message on the simple wooden sign that hangs at the entrance to the rustic dining room of the new Landmark Restaurant at 32 Auburn Road, Route 4, in Turner.

Formerly known as the Chick-A-Dee, the Landmark opened on Nov. 20, under new ownership, and has begun making memories of its own.

According to Rhonda Hart, who along with her husband, Jim, purchased the building and created the Landmark, “we try to set ourselves apart while still honoring the memory of the Chick-A-Dee”; hence the wooden sign and the circa 1937 photograph of the original Chick-A-Dee Restaurant gracing the cover of Landmark’s menu.

“Everybody has a story of what (this location) meant to them. That’s why we named it the Landmark,” Hart says. “A woman came in today and told me that she had been coming here for 47 years with her husband, who had recently passed away, and she was looking forward to (the Landmark’s) opening.”

A significant difference between the Chick-A-Dee and the Landmark Restaurant is that the Chick-A-Dee “didn’t serve breakfast. We do,” says Hart. The full breakfast menu ranges from the hearty Hunter’s Breakfast and Country Fried Steak with pepper gravy and home fries, to three-egg omelets, breakfast sandwiches and light, delicious crepes, as well as muffins, biscuits and other offerings available to go.

Another difference: the restaurant itself. The Harts removed a few partitions, opened up the space to add more room and light, painted, added new decor and now has a separate pub in the back, with its own entrance and TVs, offering patrons the full menu.

The lunch and dinner menus contain an array of offerings, including steak, chicken, burgers and pasta dishes. Lunch portions can be made smaller by request, and lighter fare for lunch and dinner includes subs, soups, salads and a variety of appetizers, including the Landmark Sampler Platter.

And the dessert menu includes an array of homemade pies, puddings and crisps, all created by lifelong baker Pam Morris, who, according to Hart, “can do it all.”

But if you’re looking for seafood . . . don’t worry. The Chick-A-Dee “was known for its seafood,” explains Hart, and the Landmark plans to continue that tradition. Hart says the fisherman’s platter is already especially popular. It’s what people flocked to the Chick-A-Dee for, and it’s one of the things that is bringing customers back in today, says Hart, who has been in the restaurant business for most of her life.

‘Raising the bar’

At the helm in the Landmark’s kitchen is Executive Chef Bill Mellish, who started cooking in the early ’90s. “When I was fresh out of school, I apprenticed under Heino Koberg at the Lion’s Share Inn, a five-star restaurant in Lionsville, Pennsylvania,” says Mellish.

A couple years later, when Koberg went to Europe for 18 months, Mellish became the executive chef there. When Koberg returned, Mellish became the executive chef at a four-star restaurant called Culinary Delights, also in Lionsville.

“Everyone can make a dish in a traditional fashion,” says Mellish, who has worked at a number of other restaurants as well, but “I like to take a dish and make it my own.” Mellish says the key is to find a way to utilize ingredients in a way that is unique, creates “fusion and explores the pallet” or “adds a twist.”

According to waitress Del Cyr, Mellish’s stuffed haddock, which is made with white wine and garlic butter, topped with fresh lobster and finished with a lobster sauce and sherry-flavored crumbles, is “super yummy, fresh not frozen, and large.”

“The haddock is amazing,” Hart adds, but notes, “my son’s favorite is the Alfredo.”

Mellish’s seafood alfredo, which is seasoned with garlic and pepper and made with fresh lobster, scallops and shrimp, is, according to Cyr, also “amazing” and so generous that “no one can finish the whole plate,” making for leftovers the following day.

“We do everything from scratch,” Mellish says, later noting, “We go through so much seafood that it’s always fresh. Our goal is providing our patrons with the freshest product available while keeping the portions generous at a good price.”

“We’re raising the bar,” Mellish adds.

Mellish credits Hart with “picking great people” to work at the Landmark, “especially me,” he adds with a smile. Hart credits Mellish for “putting specials on the menu that I never would have thought of.” Though Hart designed the menu, “they’re his recipes,” she says.

While the restaurant runs specials every day, they will run more as the staff gets more comfortable with the routine, Mellish explains, adding that what is fresh and available at the market “will be reflected in the specials.”

Looking forward, “We would like to do lots of comfort foods, but with a twist,” says Mellish, with the goal of doing “seasonal menus with top-of-the-line products.”

The Landmark is working to “keep things cost effective while making it a memorable dining experience, front to back,” says Mellish.

Chef Bill Mellish’s seafood alfredo

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

8 ounces fresh sea scallops

12 each jumbo shrimp, raw, cleaned

4.5 ounces clear meat lobster

2 cups heavy cream

12 ounces feathered parmesan cheese

1 pound of cooked pasta

Kosher salt and white pepper

1 stick of butter softened

1 tablespoon white wine

1 tablespoon parsley

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 cup flour

Method:

In a small bowl combine butter, garlic, white wine, a pinch of salt and white pepper, and parsley. Mix well and set aside.

Heat a 12-inch saucepan on medium heat. Dredge scallops and shrimp in flour. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to saute pan. Add floured seafood. Season with a pinch of salt and white pepper. Saute evenly for about two minutes. Stir and continue to saute for an additional 3 minutes.

Add two tablespoons of the butter mixture. Saute an additional 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups of heavy cream to sauce pan. Reduce for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Evenly distribute 8 ounces of feathered parm cheese, covering the entire mixture. Gently stir to incorporate cheese. Sauce will thicken upon sitting. Toss with your favorite pasta. Toss with additional parmesan cheese.

For garlic toast, spread the leftover butter mixture on your favorite bread and heat in the oven for five minutes at 400 degrees.