The Cottage Comes to Chestnut Hill

When Wellesley native Laura Wolfe moved back to the Boston area after several years at the helm of the Southern California restaurant , she was dismayed to discover that she couldn’t get much of her favorite cuisine.

“Nobody served the food we liked to eat,” Laura recalls. “We like light, fresh, modern classic-twist food, and we just couldn’t find it!”

Most of us would have just griped and tried to make do, but Laura and her husband John had a better solution: they opened their own restaurant in her old hometown. opened in November 2007 and, as of last week, was joined by The Cottage Chestnut Hill.

Both locations serve food that reflects both the West Coast flavors and East Coast ingredients that Laura and John Wolfe love, and the décor is reflective of their love of the light, airy spaces found at beach cottages on both coasts.

The Wolfes have always found it better to do it themselves.

“We’ve owned our own restaurants now for 18 years,” Laura explains. “We were both working for The Chart House. I was an assistant manager in Shelter Island (one of the Chart House locations), and John was heading up the training department. We said, ‘We can work this hard with this much passion and do it for ourselves.’”

With one daughter and another on the way, Laura encouraged John to quit his job and said they’d “figure it out, one way or another.” Fate intervened when, at a child’s birthday party the following week, a family friend told them of an ideal location for their dream endeavor. And thus the Southern California incarnation of The Cottage was born.

As the Wolfes’ daughters got older, John and Laura realized that they wanted to give them the same sort of “traditional values and emphasis on education” that they had enjoyed. So they left their La Jolla location in the capable hands of their managing partner and their chef, who had bought in to the restaurant (their Culinary Director, Todd Kiley, oversees the menus at all of their locations). But they also knew they had an entire staff dedicated to making sure The Cottage La Jolla continued its then nearly decade-long success.

“I haven’t lost even a busboy in maybe eleven years,” says Laura proudly. “We had the ability to really set the culture. We haven’t really had much turnover at all. And now the kids of those original people are working for us too!”

When they got to the Boston area, they began their search for their next endeavor. The opportunity to become franchisees of The Paradise Bakery and Café, which was opening in the Prudential Center, came along and they bought that location in 2004.

“There are about 80 in the chain,” Laura explains, “and we’re the franchisees on the East Coast for them. And, I think, we’re the third busiest one in the company. It’s a pretty dynamic location.”

Speaking of locations, there’s an interesting family history behind the spot where the Wellesley Cottage exists.

“I’m the third generation in my family to have a business in this area,” chuckles Laura. “My maiden name was Walsh. My parents were franchisees of a local printer, Pip Printing, which happened to be in the same spot my restaurant is. That was 25 years ago! And my grandfather owned the barber shop in Lower Falls, Leo’s Barber Shop.”

Some may question the wisdom of opening a second Cottage a mere five miles from their other East Coast location, but the Wolfes knew a good thing when they found it in Chestnut Hill. They are even renting a place across the street from The Cottage Chestnut Hill (their home is on the North Shore) to be closer to their newest undertaking.

“Coming here, for us, was the first time we have competition,” states Laura, speaking about other restaurants in the area. “We liked the location, we like to have a lot of space. We get repeat customers, and neighbors can meet each other here. I think we do a good job of that.”

The Cottage in Chestnut Hill will shortly be taking reservations through Open Table, but until then Laura suggests you call ahead (617-916-5413) – they have been having a wait for tables since they opened.