In Maine, a Restaurant Pays Tribute to a Beloved Ceramist

Perhaps no decorative touch feels as of the moment as handmade ceramics, but the new gallery, restaurant and event space Betty Forever takes this idea one step further. The community-oriented hangout, which will open this month in Camden, Maine, is named for the artist Betty Woodman, who was known for her vibrantly colorful ceramic vessels, and aims to channel her distinct aesthetic. The project is the brainchild of Molly O’Rourke, who worked at the pioneering farm-to-table Brooklyn restaurant Diner in its early years and now specializes in floral design, and Ariela Nomi Kuh, a ceramist who has made wares for the popular Portland restaurants Drifter’s Wife and Flood’s. “She’s very much feminine and her pottery is fearless,” Kuh says of Woodman. “Betty, not even the artist, but in the abstract, is in all of us. She’s in the menu and design, the conversations I can imagine having in this place.”

The multipurpose space occupies a converted gas station and the area that is now the dining room — complete with coral painted concrete floors and a long pale-wood bar — was once filled with car lifts. Friends and locals helped with the construction (often in exchange for babysitting) and in keeping with that D.I.Y. ethos, a painting by the duo’s friend Meghan Brady, of a vase in sunset hues, will hang proudly out front instead of a sign bearing the business’s name. Guests will enter through a store stocked with Kuh’s ceramics and food will also be served on her pieces. The menu of simple but nourishing meals will be overseen by O’Rourke’s cousin, Matt O’Rourke, who for the past three years has been working at the seafood restaurant Sammy’s Deluxe in nearby Rockland. Expect dishes like thinly sliced local eggplants cooked in Parmesan, silky panna cotta with tart plums and focaccia topped with whatever produce is in season.

Camden, which has a population of less than 5,000, comes alive during the summer months when tourists flock to the harbor. But O’Rourke, a Maine native, and Kuh, who moved to the Camden area seven years ago, hope to create a space for residents in the town’s quieter months. The menus will change according to the needs of the community and for now Betty Forever will be open only on Sundays and Mondays, when most other businesses are closed. “We’ve gotten some cute stories already,” Kuh says. “Locals have memories of coming here when it was a gas station and having crushes on people who worked there.” 46 Elm Street, Camden, Maine. — EMMA ORLOW