Sawyers sold...
 

...read in LaDaSun this morning that Sawyers has recently been sold. The buyers are the folks who bought the old Cherrystone's in Gilford and whom also own another restaurant in Hampstead. The article mentioned that they plan to keep Sawyers as a Dairy Bar/Fry Shack and that they have submitted a plan to the Town of Gilford for the renovation of Cherrystone's into a new restaurant.

Sadly, the paper also had the obituary of the the previous owner of Sawyers who apparently died suddenly shortly after the sale. How sad...

Interesting that I has been in there twice this summer and there were people looking it over and wondered if it would end up sold.

Used to see the owners in there all the time.

Hope it doesnt change much, its been a favorite pit stop for me for almost 60 years,,,

Where was Cherrystones in Gilford?


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It's on the road that Patrick's pub is on, after meadowbrook but before Parafunalia. Glad something's going in there. It's been empty for years.

Ohhh the place with the parking in back. I went there once and had forgotten the name of it. It’ll be a nice commute for them between the two places.


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It was Juniors Crush House for a couple of years.

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Hmmm maybe their prices will come down a little. Last time I was there I could of bought an economy car for what I paid for a tray of food. :eek:

Sawyer's has a great location and properly run should be a real money maker.

Memo to new owners:

Keep your prices fairly low, hopefully a tad lower than the competition.

Continue to make your own ice cream: focus on making it the best possible.

Stay on site to oversee operations.

Rake in the dough...

Totally agree that Sawyer's is a super great place to go for an ice cream sundae. Understand they offer low interest, ice cream loans, to finance your ice cream purchase, there.

For the off-season, from Labor Day to Memorial Day while Sawyer's is closed, there's always the $1.79 hot chocolate or hot caramel sundae at the Meredith McDonald's which is open all year, 'round.

I would not expect them to lower prices.

1) The cost of EVERYTHING continues to rise.

2) The new owners are likely to be carrying debt on the property. That debt service is a additional cost that their predecessors likely no longer had.

Though I wouldn't expect them to lower their costs per se, I do wonder how much the pricing and "tourist trap" rep might begin/are beginning to hurt them.

I know we've been by it half a dozen times this summer and have skipped over it in favor of other options.

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I personally have never gone there and by what so many have said about them, I won't... thanks for alerting me

Who are you referring to? The new owners, who with a quick search have 519 reviews on their other restaurant with a 4.4 rating?

Very unrealistic expectations. Your asking for low prices possibly lower than the competition while making their own ice cream from scratch for a seasonal business open Memorial Day to Labor Day. That’s a recipe for failure.


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We stopped today for ice cream. Previous owners and the ones before that used to close on Labor Day. I asked and was told they expect to stay open uyntil October, maybe just weekends. Sounds like they're working out the details. Small dish of ice cream was $3.82 including tax. If that's $0.25 or $0.50 high or low, I wouldn't know. I don't go or not go someplace for penny differences. I go because I want their product at their location, right now.

That’s good news. If we could only get pops to stay open a few weekends after Labor Day. [emoji39][emoji39][emoji39][emoji39][emoji39][emoji39]


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Depends on what a "small" is. Hodgies and Dewey's are very different in terms of that measurement, though the price is similar.

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Agreed
 

When we stay at the AMC Cold River Camp, we go to the Stow Store for ice cream. A "Baby" is at least three scoops. Then a high carb dinner. Climbing mountains is a great way to burn carbs.

That is outstanding news!

Maybe the new owners would benefit by a "gimmick:" offer one product at a real low price with the hope / expectation that purchasers will also buy one or more items at regular price.

Probably the best item would be soft drinks because it is so cheap to source and produce, but french fries might also work.

Bottom line is sales is a volume business, you need to get people through the door.

Best of luck to them, I look forward to having a cone.

Hope it changes alot! SAWYERS has been awful for years.

Respectfully disagree...
 

I realize everyone has their own sense of taste and smell, but I respectfully disagree. We go there once or twice a summer....twice this season...and the fried clams, onion rings, & fries were very good, (to our tastebuds anyway). Ice cream was, (and always has been), very good.

Now Tamarack...that has been awful for years...

Sawyers and Tamarack
 

I have to say I agree that Sawyers has not been good for quite some time, My home is very close to them and I found the quality went way down and prices way up with the prior owners. The original owners built a great business and we loved it before the sale 15-20 years ago. I hope the new owners bring its standards back up. As to Tamarack, Again the original owners built a fabulous business but it went down hill quickly when it was sold. If I'm not mistaken its been sold 2-3 times over the past 10-15 and I've seen no improvement during our once every 1-2 seasons visits.

McDonald's fish sandwhich is much better than the last fish sandwhich I had at Sawyers. I'm not joking.

WOW, thats a totally different experience than we have. We go there every chance we have.

I dont compare it to a fancy steak house or other high dining, but we enjoy it for what it is, and 50's style burger joint.

We count the days every winter until they open, go as often as possible, and are sad when they close for winter.

Just thinking about it makes me want a bucket of their coal slaw and a coffee shake.

Sorry it doesnt hit the spot for you,,,

Sawyers sold...
 

Did they have fried clams and fried chicken this year ? Also way back they use to have soft serve ice cream that was pretty good but the got rid of the machines.


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What other eating establishments would you recommend?
Not limited to restaurants.

Thank you

Yes to Fried Clams..
 

Yes, we had fried clams there twice this past summer. They have strips and whole belly. Not sure why anyone would even bother with clam strips, as it's basically just fried batter, but I guess some folks find the fried belly gross. Anyway, we thought they were very good, as always. I'm pretty sure they had fried chicken as well, but then again, we weren't looking for it.

I remember their soft serve that they used to have and I agree with you, it was very good. I don't believe they have it anymore.

Thank you I appreciate it I’ll try to stop by before they close for the season. Yeah they remove the soft serve machines quite a few years ago unfortunately there’s not a lot of good soft serve around here you really have to go to Bailey’s bubble


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Kalley and I work in the same industry. I can tell you that she is well funded to make a go of this. Provided that they can get help/labor I am sure they will do fine.

.... all about the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filet-O-Fish fish sandwhich!!!

It says that as of May 2020 it contains a battered, fried fish fillet made from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska_pollock ..... the "national fish" of Korea.

Sawyer's ice cream
 

I decided to give the new owners a try. The dining area is wholly remodeled more like an ice cream parlor taste.

Help was friendly and efficient. The ice cream was good. There is no sugar-free selection for diabetics or frozen yogurt. Limited flavors which I expect early in the season.

May try again. I wish them luck.

It must be ice cream day.

I drove by the Laconia Dairy Queen about 3:30 PM today and there were 7 cars in line for the drive through. That is pretty good for a mid-week day in May!

Sawyers sold...
 

YIKES! SAWYERS DAIRY BAR: Just spent $14 for 5 scallops (only one of them was a decent size) and $21 for a tiny portion of fried clams. No sides!! My husband and I are heading home hungry for lunch lol.

What was your total bill?

Sawyers for ice cream. Pops for fried clams, only a few miles away.

Thing is, Sawyer's used to be a viable opition for food as well as ice cream.

Oh well, everything is more expensive; I now pay four bucks for an artisan baguette that cost two bucks pre-covid.

We tried it last weekend. Much better than last time 2 years ago. 3 of us, chicken tender plate, clam strip plate and chicken parm sub and an onion ring. Plenty of food, and with 3 fountain drinks came to $70+. All food was very good, but maybe a once a year visit.

i wonder if we are reaching the breaking point with restaurant prices that people will stop going and lack of staff won't be a problem

Lack of staff is still a problem for us....
Between now and July 4th... I'm just praying to keep my head on straight.

I heard a rumor the new owners are offering 90 day financing for lobster rolls.

Sawyers sold
 

Good answer!

Pops down the road serves a ton more than 5 small scallops and 6 clams for $36


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Pleasant surprise
 

Stopped at Sawyer's last night for the first time under the new ownership and was pleasantly surprised. We don't go there often -- usually just on the way to a concert -- and the food seemed to be much improved. Not cheap -- $35 for a Turkey Club, Baked Haddock, and two Cokes -- but the sandwich was very good, and my wife was happy with the amount of fish (she was expecting a couple of pieces buried in french fries -- it was a generous portion).

What really impressed me was that when we drove by after the concert their hours were posted as 12 to 12 -- and at 11:55 PM they had a sizeable line for ice cream. It's encouraging to see that they are seizing on the opportunity to make some money off the post-concert crowd, something often overlooked by other businesses (we have seen ice cream stands in Wolfeboro slam down their windows as the Cate Park concert crowd starts to disperse -- missing out on money they could have made by staying open an additional ten or fifteen minutes). We wish them well, and will be back.

They also now have a satellite location on the Winnipesaukee Pier in the Weirs for ice cream. Great addition to the pier.


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George Sawyer had a Chris Craft SeaSkiff or maybe a Lyman Islander named MILKYWAY and brought dairy products to island residents. Nice man and always an event of excitement when he pulled into your dock. Good luck to the new owners.

Only Ice Cream...ugghh....
 

So on Sunday, we decided to make the trek over to Sawyer's for our first, (and last), Fried Clam fix of the summer. As we pulled in to the parking lot, we saw on their big sign, "Only Serving Ice Cream Today". UUGGHH!!

The fried clam fix turned into a cup of seafood chowder and a caesar salad at Patricks!

And with Pops usually shutting down now, you are in a tough spot to get good clams for short money. Well not that any of them are inexpensive any more,,,

Good Luck.

Town Docks clams have been pretty good this year and they are open on the weekends now

Johnson's
 

Johnson's in Alton/New Durham on Route 11 is good too.

Red Hill Dari may still be open.

Meh. I got a seafood platter there a couple weeks back and won't be doing that again. Not horrible, mind you, but $27 for an unimpressive plate with baby shrimp and small clams.

Bob House is much better for that same area.

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Would anyone know if The Breeze will honor a gift card for the Lions Den? We will be staying in the area this weekend for concert and would like to use it. Thanks for any info!


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Yup: That, and if you want quality, you are going to pay for it. Cheap is, in fact, cheap.

My guess is not: the old owners got the money, the new owners did not. New owners are not likely to give you a free meal -- unless they stretch really far for good customer service, or unless it was part of the deal when they sold; sometimes that is the case on the transfer of a business. Some states have laws about that, you might want to check.

Anyway, good luck-- hope you enjoy the Breeze, I certainly have, it is a good operation.

Should have gone to Red Hill Dari in Center Harbor
Sorry for the shameless plug but Micki had some beautiful fresh clams this week.....a little on the small side but I don't like the bellies if they are too big.

Mixed review
 

Stopped in Sawyers a few weeks ago. Service and ice cream was good, burger and fries were terrible. Once you have the ingredients it does not take much more to make them tasty and cooked properly. Maybe next year a new cook can improve the food. Until then I drive by often, but won’t stop.

Usually outstanding gift cards are considered a contingent liability on a business balance sheet. Buying a business usually includes those obligations.

I'd call them and ask.

Thank you and yes i’ll call them.


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The Breeze will not honor Lyons Den gift cards.

However, they will give you the phone number to the former owner, Lauren Lyons. She will offer you a check or a replacement card to Patrick's Pub. Your choice.

Interesting. When we sold, I wrote a check for all outstanding gift certificates so that the new owner could honor them.

That really isn’t true. Most times when a business is sold it’s just the assets not the liabilities. I this case the “business” wasn’t sold, Lyons den’s location was taken over by the Breeze and certain assets such as equipment were purchased.


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