KENNEBUNK – A new taste and a new look is coming soon to the Ross Block in downtown Kennebunk.

Bev’s Cafe & Market is poised to open in June at 41 Main St., which until recently was the home of Christian’s Cafe.

Nate Norris and Annie Callan came to Kennebunk from California, where they worked at Zuni Café in San Francisco – Callan was pastry chef and Norris was executive chef. Between them, they have decades of experience in the hospitality industry. Both are originally from the East Coast.

“I’ve been coming to Kennebunk most of my life,” said Callan, and the couple has family members in York Harbor.

Now, after recently purchasing the restaurant space, they are getting it ready – and are planning to open as soon as they can – the target date is in early June.

On a recent day, they were painting inside, but stepped out into the spring air to have a quick chat about their plans.

The couple plan to serve breakfast and lunch – breakfast burritos, egg sandwiches, sausage made in-house, homemade biscuits, oatmeal, yogurt, granola, and other morning fare.

There will be breakfast items that someone in a hurry headed to work can order and take with them.

On the weekends, there will be dishes people can enjoy in the restaurant in a more leisurely fashion, said Norris.

“You won’t feel rushed,” he said.  Dine-in meals will be served using glassware, real dishes and flatware.

Lunch will include selections like homemade soup, salads, sandwiches, a different hot main dish every day, and more, said Callan.

And there is the market aspect – where the chefs will offer prepared meals that people may purchase to finish at home, along with a selection of other items, like pasta, local New England products, and some more hard-to-find items.

They plan to serve coffee from Portland-based Tandem Coffee Roasters, a selection of tea, and beer and wine.

Bev’s Café & Market is named for Callan’s grandmother, Bev, now 92, who used to visit Maine each year.

“She loved coming to Kennebunk,” said Callan, who also remembered the wonderful meals her grandmother prepared.

Besides new paint, the restaurant will feature a tin ceiling, new lighting – accomplished, said Norris, through Cranberry Hill of York, washrooms refreshed with new tile, and more.

“It will have a completely new look,” said Callan.

“We want to make it a space that goes with the turn-of-the century building,” said Norris.

The idea of Bev’s Cafe & Market they explained, is a place that feels great, but not fancy.

The couple introduced themselves to the Kennebunk Select Board at a recent public hearing for their food and liquor licenses.

“We’re really excited and grateful to be here and it seems like a really good space to do the type of work we like to do,” said Norris. “Our focus is to have a business that feels really well considered and excellent in what it’s doing, as well as available and accessible to people at large.“

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