BETHEL — Nearly to the top of the hill on Philbrook Street in Bethel Village, is a small, unassuming building that once housed Bethel’s water district.

With a nod to the past, Vicky Fimiani, of Hanover, and Kate Goldberg, of Bethel, have named their new restaurant, Watershed Wood-Fired Kitchen. When they  open the week of Oct. 10 they will sell pizza, ka-bobs, salad, rice bowls and dessert. They are starting with an small, “introductory” menu, but may decide to do their signature pumpkin ravioli, too. “We are baby-stepping into it,” said Goldberg.

At Thanksgiving, they will take a break, then return with a full, heartier winter menu. At least initially, they will be open for dinner only from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Owning a restaurant has been a  long-time dream for the owners, who used to drive around town in Fimiani’s 1985 VW Cabriolet, looking for a place to buy.  Two years ago, Goldberg was walking her dog and found the building. She went straight to Bethel Town Office only to learn it was slated for demolition.

They waited nearly a year for approval of the sale to go before the voters at Town Meeting. A majority of the approximately 25 people on the Bethel Common that day during COVID said yes, and the building was theirs.

“We were so naive, we were so excited. We didn’t know what was awaiting us.” said Fimiani.  “It was so ramshackle,” added Goldberg.

The two met about 23 years ago through their children at Montessori School and began cooking together in Fimiani’s in-home industrial kitchen.

About 10 years later they submitted fiddlehead ravioli as an entry to the Common Ground Country Fair and to their surprise, it was accepted. With the help of their  daughters, they spent the summer before the fair perfecting their recipe.

At True North Adventureware, owned by the Goldbergs, they cooked and sold sourdough flatbread for five and a half years from a mobile pizza oven in the parking lot.

The restaurant

“It’s tight like a ship,” said Goldberg of the 1,500-square-foot space that includes their newly-dug-basement. In the food prep space below deck are commercial ovens, the pasta maker, and the walk-in refrigerator.

Above deck is a cozy interior that has 22 seats including five stools at the bar that they purchased from the Rotary Club’s annual yard sale. Outside is their Bethel Village-facing deck with 22 more seats.

“An 80-year-old carpenter, Dan Brown of West Paris, has seen us through,” said Fimiani of the renovation. They joke that their own “old age,” is their biggest challenge.

Mystery surrounds the 1890 structure. A neighbor told them the building was a school before it was the water district, but they have had no luck verifying that.

So for now, they remember the water shed with found attic items. Old water district plans are wall-papered on the bathroom wall;  a spigot and pot-belly stove floor protector are wall decoration. And of course their name plays homage, too.

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