Brothers Tyson, left, and Jason LaVerdiere will open Flux in downtown Lisbon Falls on April 12. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)
LISBON FALLS — Nearly two years after they started their business plan, brothers Tyson and Jason LaVerdiere found the right spot for their future restaurant on Main Street.
Step one after closing on the sale in January: Remove everything from the former Dr. Mike’s Madness Cafe so they could make their own mark.
Gone are the bright purple walls and 1950s diner booths. In their place at Flux: cool lights hanging from the ceilings, lots of dark woods and stainless steel and live edge tables crafted by Jason, 33.
The brothers, who grew up in the Winslow area and live within a block of the restaurant, have thrown themselves into renovation the past three months.
Tyson, 35, found a YouTube video on how to install a floor and assured his brother it would only take half a day.
“Seven days later, Jay says, ‘A half day, huh?'” Tyson said, laughing.
They hope the payoff comes with Flux’s grand opening Thursday.
Tyson will be Flux’s general manager, Jason its head chef.
Head chef Jason LaVerdiere of Flux restaurant in Lisbon Falls finally got the window in his kitchen that he wished for. LaVerdiere said having the ability to look outside is beneficial when choosing what to make for daily specials. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)
Jason, a chef in the Old Port the past eight years, said it’s been a lifelong dream to own a restaurant. He’s been crafting the new menu in their updated kitchen, one day last week making chicken wings with an upscale twist.
“They’re brined, then they’re confited (cooked in their own fat) and then they’re fried — it yields a super, super crispy, flavorful chicken,” Jason said. “It’s just taking a low brow ingredient, like a chicken wing, and it’s giving it the luxury treatment that you would give to a more expensive, maybe, duck leg in a fine dining scenario.”
So far, the lunch and dinner menu has starters such as poutine and tempura cauliflower and main dishes such as buttermilk fried chicken, gnocchi and the Flux burger with beef, sauerkraut, caramelized onion and remoulade, a French-inspired condiment. Dinner dishes run between $10 and $18.
The breads, pasta and desserts will be made on-site in a bakery that’s now, with the removal of some plywood, open to the dining room.
“Our vision really was to kind of make the world a better place on our small scale, and we’re trying to do it through food,” Tyson said. “Making people happy, through food. We’re creating this modern vibe where you can just relax, unwind and kind of indulge.”
The space has seating for 80, including a few seats at a counter looking into the kitchen.
“That was one of the big things, for my brother, is to be connected to the dining room, be able to see the people’s reaction to his food,” Tyson said.
For some of the ingredients, they’re working with Full Fork Farm, Riverwind Farms and Lisbon-based Springworks Farm for produce and grass-fed beef.
A new bar along one wall has 12 taps and they plan to use 10 of those to highlight Maine beers.
“We’re trying to feature beers on tap that feature ingredients by Blue Ox Malthouse, right here in town,” Tyson said. “We want to support local as much as possible.”
Town councilors loaned the brothers $146,940 in December for the restaurant’s opening and operating costs. Tracey Steuber, Lisbon’s economic and community development director, said Flux will be a great addition to the town.
“It was really cool to have that community support,” Tyson said.
They’ve gotten other help in the push to open. Vince Hess from Lisbon helped with the bar and other carpentry and Portland chef and friend Sean Doherty helped develop the dessert menu. A double-chocolate cake and rhubarb upside down cake sat in bakery cooling racks last week.
The brothers have so far hired a staff of 15. The restaurant’s name, Flux, was picked to represent constant change, and to that end, they’ll be changing the menu seasonally.
“What’s available, what can we work with, what do people want?” Tyson said.
Flux restaurant is in the former Dr. Mike’s Madness Cafe on Main Street in Lisbon Falls. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)
Flux will open Tuesday to Thursday at 12 Main St. from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for dinner with a limited bar menu in between. On Friday and Saturday, the lunch hours stay the same and dinner is extended by an hour, to 10 p.m., with a limited bar menu in between.
The brothers originally wanted to open their restaurant in Brunswick. After checking out a potential spot down the street that didn’t work out, the former’s Dr. Mike’s Madness Cafe opened up.
“We saw the potential and saw how big this space was,” Tyson said. “It’s a giant kitchen, then they have a dedicated bakery, an enormous downstairs. We just saw what it could be, and the vision started. Basically, it’s been two years of blood, sweat and tears to get here, and then we got in and we’ve done all the work ourselves.”
kskelton@sunjournal.com
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