WILTON - The former Athena's Pizza Restaurant building will soon turn over a new leaf with the opening of Salt and Pepper.

Don and Mary Beane of Wilton were approved by the Planning Board for a Use Permit at the Route 2 location, where they plan to open Salt and Pepper in the spring. The Beanes each have nearly 40 years of food service experience - everything from managing restaurants and resorts to owning and operating a long time catering business.

"We're excited to offer fresh foods with vibrant flavors. We'll have something for everyone - many vegan options and meat options too for the carnivorous friend," Mary Beane said.

Salt and Pepper will be open six days a week, including breakfast on the weekends. Mary said she hopes to offer an extensive takeout menu for local business lunches, and is expecting to eventually bring 10-12 jobs to the area. An active board member of Western Maine Homeless Outreach, Mary hopes to continue her successful fundraising efforts, using Salt and Pepper as a landing site for events. She also plans to continue her involvement with Cooking Matters, a healthy cooking program, using the restaurant as her base.

The new eatery will include a beer and wine selection to compliment the "down home with a twist" menu, but will primarily focus on the food, not the alcohol, Don said.

The couple is currently overseeing extensive renovations to the interior of the building in order to get up to code for licensing. Though the process is lengthy, Mary and Don told the board they are excited for their hopeful opening this spring.

"It will be great. It won't be pizza, but it will be everything tasty," Mary added.