Things have come full circle for the owners and operators of Otter Lake’s newest eatery, Scooters Bar & Grill. Scott Gauthier and Angela Davis recently purchased the property at 362 Martineau Avenue that had once held the Le P’tit Bar. The crazy thing? The couple met there over 20 years ago.

A miner by trade, the nature of Gauthier’s work meant he was often on the road. Spending significant time away from home, travelling to job sites throughout Canada and the United States, Gauthier was ready for a change. Wanting to . . .

spend more time with his family, and hankering for a lifestyle with less travelling, Gauthier decided the time was right to pursue a job he had always dreamed of: that of a bar and grill owner.

“This was my dream job,” said Gauthier. “I’ve always wanted to do something like this.”

After purchasing the property, Gauthier and Davis spent months renovating the building. Retrofitting the venue with a new kitchen and overhauling its interior to better fit with a sports bar aesthetic, Gauthier’s dream was brought to life.

With the renovations completed, the public was welcomed into the venue for a “soft opening” that ran from March 4 until April 1.

“It was a really good experience,” said Gauthier. “It gave us that time to get familiarized with the menu – what works, what doesn’t work – and we were able to make adjustments.”

Having gained valuable experience in successfully operating a restaurant from Scooter’s “soft opening”, Gauthier and his staff felt as though they were ready for the next step. With a shared confidence in their abilities having been fostered through trial and error, Gauthier and his team announced the official grand opening of Scooters Bar & Grill would take place on April 2.

The April 2 date chosen for the grand opening event marked a poignant culmination of life for Gauthier and Davis. It was 23 years ago to the day, in the same building that Scooters now resides, that the couple first met.

“I was playing music at the time and was up on stage doing a set,” said Gauthier. “My now-wife happened to be here and we hit it off immediately.”

Appreciative of the encouragement from his family, the support of the community and the hard work of his staff, Gauthier hopes that Scooters Bar & Grill will continue to provide a venue for homestyle food and lively socialization for years to come.

Scooters Bar and Grill staff at their grand opening, left to right, Danielle Villeneuve, Jennifer Gauthier, Amanda Gauthier, Scott Gauthier, Kristen Gauthier, Angela Gauthier, Gloria Dagenais, Jay Dubeau, Velma Lafleur and Barb Lavoie. Not pictured: Taylor Zacharias, Billie Laporte, Chelsy Dubeau, Donna Roy, Ana McNab and Grace Carson.

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