PARIS — A staple of South Paris for decades, The Square has seen many changes over the years.

One thing that has been constant since 1984, save a year or two here or there, is the presence of brothers Scott and Mike Gilbert — sometimes one or the other, and often together.

Through their expansions, the Gilberts have increased dining space from 45 seats to 135.

They took the restaurant as a small building and continually added to it — sideways in three directions, upward and even below ground — spreading into neighboring buildings, constructing a second floor, finishing space to accommodate storage, vehicles and customer parking and even reconfiguring traffic.

Now, Mike, who invested in the restaurant as partner, not once but twice, is ready to step back and focus on his other business ventures.

And Scott, who also left a couple of times but has three tenures as partner with his brother or with others, knows he has spent enough 90-hour weeks running the kitchen to deserve a life that includes fresh air on the weekends.

The two have handpicked their successors, a local couple with a history at The Square and known to customers at other local restaurants in the area.

Chris Dresser and his partner, Kara Lounsbury, are on duty and at work, learning the day-to-day needs and functions and positioning themselves as the next generation of The Square.

Earlier this month the Advertiser Democrat sat down with the restaurant’s current and incoming owners to learn about the Gilbert brothers’ legacy and the next chapter for their restaurant.

Both cut their teeth in the hospitality business at The Square, Scott starting in 1984 and Mike two years later. Back then they reported to its previous owners, John and Marjorie Tisdale, who also owned two other eateries in town.

In 1992, with a partner, Scott purchased The Square from John Tisdale, but the partnership did not work out. After a year he sold out his share and left to work at another restaurant.

In the interim the restaurant began to fail. Tisdale, still owning the real estate as well as a mortgage on the business, took it back over and lured Mike back in.

Mike, who was bartending at one of the Tisdale’s other restaurants, agreed to help them out in the kitchen while they worked to reopen. He said he only intended to work at The Square for a month.

“Three months later I’m still working in the kitchen, but I wanted to go back to bartending,” Mike said. “I hated working in the kitchen. I told John I wasn’t staying any longer.”

Tisdale did not want to stay either, it seemed. He offered Mike an owner financing package to take it over. Even though Mike could only raise a little more than half what Tisdale wanted for a down payment, they struck a deal.

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Then it was Mike’s turn to lure Scott back to help him out. After juggling jobs for a period, he was back in for the long run too.

Mike eventually moved on and to Florida in 2014, leaving Scott to take it over with his significant other. The relationship did not last but the former couple continued to run the business, even though it was not easy.

Then COVID-19 hit and as with the status quo all over, “not easy” became almost impossible.

Mike and his wife, Stephanie, had returned to Maine in 2020. Scott asked his brother if he would buy back in as a partner.

Mike and Stephanie agreed, the caveat being that he would not have work in the kitchen. Scott, who was working as many as 90 hours a week to keep the business afloat through the pandemic, could accept that arrangement. Stephanie began managing the front of house and took on its accounting.

The three put in a whole level of management, doing much-needed maintenance and upgrades to the building, like converting to heat pumps and revamping the parking lot. During a time when people could not or chose not to work in public-facing jobs, they allowed some staff to walk while taking care of those who stuck it out, and were choosy about who they hired.

“The current staff is the best we’ve ever had,” Scott said.

They looked at profitability and adjusted the hours of operation, which resulted in better revenue performance.

Four years later, The Square is not only squarely in the black, but debt free and bringing in more money every year.

Scott has even been able to reintroduce himself to a weekend off now and then.

Mike knows he has other fish he wants to fry. Scott knows he needs to change his work habits for his own well-being. So their business outlook shifted from improving the restaurant to determining its next phase.

“Scott wanted to be able to slow down by the time he turns 60, and he is 56 now,” Mike said. “So we began to brainstorm” an eventual exit plan.

Rather than advertise it for sale and possibly handing over the keys to someone from away, they determined to take a page from John Tisdale’s book and find their successors within the community.

Chris Dresser, left, and Kara Lounsbury, with daughter, Harper, stand July 9 outside The Square restaurant in South Paris. The couple have joined with its current owners Scott and Mike Gilbert to eventually make the restaurant theirs. Nicole Carter/Advertiser Democrat

For Scott, two people came to mind. He did not name the second person because he never got around to talking with them about it. Chris Dresser was at the top of his list.

Dresser, 30, grew up in Oxford and came to The Square at the same age and the same position as the Gilberts: a high school sophomore hired as a dishwasher.

Like Scott, he worked his way from the sink to the grill and eventually left for a different gig. Since then he’s had gigs at Applebee’s, including managing the Auburn store, and more recently at Daddy O’s.

He met his partner, Lounsbury, 27, while they both worked at Applebee’s. Like him, she also went from there to Daddy-O’s.

Why did Scott select Dresser as heir to The Square?

“His goals fit with our goals,” Scott said. “I know his work ethic. He’s good at his job and reliable.”

“And I’ve always talked about someday owning my own restaurant,” Dresser added.

Negotiations began with a conversation between the two this spring, Scott explaining that Mike and Stephanie were ready to move on and he was ready to slow down. His hope was to mentor someone into an ownership role. He had no plans to go anywhere, just transition to a part-time career that did not own him from dawn until dark.

Was Dresser interested?

It turns out, he was, and Lounsbury was on board with it too. Discussions evolved into agreements and confirmations.

By April, Dresser was back in the kitchen at The Square, although he was sorry to leave Daddy O’s. Lounsbury started working in the dining room in June and she is learning the ropes of managing it with Stephanie.

The young couple are parents to a daughter Harper, 2, with a second daughter due soon. When Lounsbury returns from maternity leave, she will start training to run the office and the books.

The transition plan has been set to wind down after three years. Until then, Dresser and Lounsbury will assume more and more responsibilities as co-managers and the Gilberts will continue knocking things off their improvements list, including redecorating inside and out, a new bar and off-street parking across the street for building tenants.

At that point, Dresser and Lounsbury will take on the business as a lease. After five years they will have the option to purchase the building, just as the Gilberts did years ago.

“Chris and Kara are the perfect age to start their own business,” Scott said. “It will be in good hands. Customers like their traditions, and it will continue.”