Gravy runs out: Wells restaurant to shut down a year after making move from Somersworth

WELLS, Maine — With its signature farewell, “Cheers, love and cheese curds,” Gravy will close for good on Monday, Nov. 13.

Veteran chef Mark Segal, the owner of the restaurant at 231 Post Road, said in a recent social media post his journey of serving up a gravy-based menu has been “incredible.”

“But now it’s time for this journey to end,” he added.

While the quirky eatery opened in Wells in June of last year, its history stretches back to February 2020, when Gravy first opened in the old 1886 rail station building in Somersworth, New Hampshire. At the time, Segal imagined the site as a flagship location for what he hoped would be an enterprise that would expand into other communities.

In February 2020, the world was on the cusp of the COVID-19 pandemic, a health crisis that would wreak havoc on the dining industry and so many others. Segal weathered that storm, and in June 2022 he decided to take Gravy to Wells, where a highly visible, turnkey-ready, standalone building waited on Route 1.

That decision was bittersweet because he enjoyed being a part of the Somersworth community, he told Foster’s Daily Democrat at the time, but the location where he had opened Gravy was not sustainable for him.

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During an interview on Nov. 6, Segal said it is “not lost on me” that he was able to keep his vision of a gravy-centric restaurant going through the tumultuous two years of the pandemic and beyond. He thanked those who dined at his restaurant and supported his efforts to offer something different.

“I want to express my extreme gratitude,” he said.

In his social media post, Segal said to his customers, “It’s been an honor and pleasure to serve you all.”

Gravy has had a build-your-own menu that has enabled diners to choose a gravy, protein, starch and sides. The restaurant also has had a list of Segal’s favorite combinations of poutine and sandwich options, such as the Burlington Poutine, a combination of Grandpa’s beer and cheddar gravy on Belgian fries, cheese curds and apple-smoked bacon.

Segal said Gravy offered “that good home-cooked comfort meal, that warm-your-belly-and-your-soul kind of food.”

Patrons who have gift certificates to Gravy can use them while the restaurant is open through Monday, but Segal said people need not worry if they cannot make it before the doors permanently close. He said people can contact him either by calling (603) 498-4202 or by emailing Marksegal788@gmail.com, so that something can be worked out.

Gravy will be open from Thursday, Nov. 9, through Monday, Nov. 13, from noon until the last customers on those days finish their meals and ask for their checks. The restaurant will not be serving brunch on Sunday, however.

What’s next for Segal? Stay tuned. He said he has been purpose-driven with Gravy and has not decided on his future plans.

“At this point, the goal is to finish as strong as we started and figure out the next chapter from there,” he said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Gravy serving its last meals in Wells ME: Restaurant to close