LEWISTON — Downtown Lewiston’s newest restaurant, bon Vivant, is open for business.

The owners of neighborhood bar Sonder & Dram persevered through the COVID-19 pandemic and the mayhem it wrought on the hospitality industry to open what they describe as a New American cuisine, full-service restaurant.

Principal Peter Flanders said the restaurant was planned well before the pandemic.

“We started planning this before we opened Sonder & Dram,” he said.

In fact, he said, they even leased the former Subway space and paid to leave it empty until they were ready to put their plans in motion.

“We didn’t act on it until Sonder & Dram was open and doing well,” Flanders said. “And then, when we acted on it, we parked it throughout COVID-19.”

The neat and elegant eatery has a line of banquettes along one wall and seating for 45 to 50 in a variety of table configurations. The bar is compact and well situated with a small seating area. A door leads to stairs that connect the two businesses.

Bon Vivant at 133 Lisbon St. sits atop Sonder & Dram, whose entrance is at 12 Ash St., and boasts ample street parking. The Centerville Parking Garage is adjacent to Ash Street.

Bon Vivant is the result of years of planning, dreaming and work from an entire team, including principals Flanders, Rick Roy and Jon Mercier and executive chef and partner Michael Gosselin leading the way.

Flanders’ daughter, Blaine, is serving as general manager of the restaurant and will soon become a partner.

Gosselin, who graduated in 2004 from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, is a Lewiston native and was a driving force at Fuel, which closed in 2018 after a successful 11-year run.

Bon Vivant is the most likely candidate to reignite the downtown dining scene and fill the void left by Fuel’s closure. While it might have the same chef, the style and cuisine are different, described as New American cuisine.

The restaurant is described on its website as “all about the tasty food, curated wine list and well-designed service in a hip atmosphere.”

“They can expect people to use some incredible skills to provide tasty food,” Flanders said. “And that food will be centered around … culinary skill, paired with Maine-based delicious foods. That is our American, our New American food.”

Gosselin, who leads the kitchen team with sous-chef Kevin Peters, describes it as an homage to New England regional cuisine.

“It is important to me that the cuisine has a sense of time and place,” Gosselin said. “Those values are reflected in our attention to the seasonality of ingredients that we select, along with sourcing local ingredients whenever possible … to bring the bounty of Maine produce and products to our guests in carefully crafted dishes.”

Sourcing fresh local products started from day one, with Gosselin calling it a bonus to collaborate with Farmers’ Gate Market, Harbor Fish Market and Eli’s Homestead already featured on the menu, along with other relationships Gosselin and others are seeking to cultivate.

The menu has some basic components, but the owners said it will change with the seasons and with what is available and fresh.

“We’re feeding people that live in Maine,” Flanders said. “We want to feed them the food that’s here. We want to support the food system that exists in Maine. It’s really important to us to provide the freshest food. Our menu will change all the time. It won’t necessarily change every day, but it might.”

Gosselin has a new, full-size commercial kitchen that he helped lay out and design. He said it is a far cry from the 6-by-9-foot galley kitchen downstairs at Sonder & Dram.

Flanders and his team said they are committed to the Twin Cities. They have created a following at Sonder & Dram, celebrating the bar’s fifth anniversary in June, after having survived the pandemic.

“We’re investing in downtown because this community — this city, in particular — is willing to invest in its downtown and they proved it to us,” he said. “And so that’s why we’re here.”

For now, bon Vivant is open from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on Mondays and every Wednesday through Saturday. As the restaurant and staff members get settled in the coming weeks and months, Flanders said he will look to bring on more employees to add Friday lunch, Saturday and Sunday brunch and Sunday dinner.

“It requires almost an entire another staff,” he said. “Rather than try and hire two staffs, which is essentially what you have to do, we chose to do one and find really talented people.”

While there is no firm timeline for expanding the days and hours, Flanders said he is hopeful the changes can happen by October.

Customers should not expect takeout or delivery options at bon Vivant. The restaurant is strictly a dine-in establishment, primarily because the type of food it offers is meant to emphasize “fresh and just prepared.”

“Bon Vivant has been a dream of mine and the team here for over two years,” Gosselin said. “It is a joy to see it complete. I am looking forward to welcoming guests to come and enjoy all we have to offer them.”

Flanders said he also looks forward to a new era with bon Vivant.

“It’s about community development,” he said, “and we’ll do another one if this is successful.”

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