The School House 1913 can be hard to describe if you have not had the pleasure of dining with us. Often described as quirky and offbeat, we wear those terms as a badge of honor. We are a small restaurant housed in a beautifully, restored original schoolhouse on the Harpswell Neck Peninsula. The building was opened in 1913 and served students up through the 1950’s and we lean into the history of this beautiful area with the décor. Historic pictures of Harpswell through the years dot the wall amid relics from eras before. We serve students of a different kind now as we embrace the idea of using this space to educate about the beautiful history and wonderful food that can be found right around us. We are an independently owned restaurant that is very much chef driven. Led by Chef Joseph Arena, who has studied the world over, and General Manager Christopher Gardner, we are trying to we focus on creatively designed dishes crafted with a global perspective and a heavy emphasis on vegetables. With a constantly changing and ever seasonal menu you can be assured of finding something different every time you come thru the door. The whole idea at The School House 1913 is that we are trying to bring back the idea of dinner being something special. We all have memories of going out to eat with our families, on those special occasions. While the whole world seems to be picking up speed year after year we are trying to slow things down so you can enjoy the time spent with loved ones over a wonderful meal. If you are looking for something a little different from the normal fare here in Maine, and appreciate good food with the service and atmosphere to go with it, we might be the place for you. If you are looking for more of the same, we are definitely not.
Please reach us at cbg.schoolhouse@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
It would best be described as American with a global perspective. We use fresh, local ingredients to make some great food. The menu is in a constant state of improvement and very seasonal. We are chef driven, with an emphasis on local sourcing and growing as much as we
can.
We strive to buy local. We have wonderful relationships with the following: Two Coves Farm, Whatley Farms, Spear Farms, Applewald Farms, Fairwinds Farm, Airmids Microgreen Garden, and Six River Farm. All of this is in addition to weekly trips to the Brunswick Farmers Market. We source our Seafood from Harbor Seafood and Maine Shellfish. We also have our own gardens here on the property with which we are consistently trying to shrink our Carbon Footprint.
No, well a little. We have a couple items on our Brunch Menu that do have lobster in them, but for the most part the Dinner Menu is Lobster Free. There are many wonderful places to dine on lobster in the area and accordingly, there is a lot of great food native to Maine that is not Lobster. We prefer to focus our energies there. If you are looking for a Lobster Roll in the area during the Summer Months, I would highly recommend Erica’s down on Basin Point. Tell Tommy we sent you.
Absolutely, Brunch is very Family Friendly. Dinner maybe not so much. While we absolutely can accommodate well behaved children with good appetites, please note, we do not have a children’s menu. We are not-anti children by any means, but we are very pro adult and are trying to provide an atmosphere where that still matters.
While personally we have nothing but love for all four animal friends, this is a remodeled, historical building that a lot of people worked very hard on. Accordingly, pets are not allowed on the deck or in the restaurant, with the exception of Service Animals.
For the most part, we will run dinner nightly, during the summer, from Wednesday through Saturday, and as always, our Sunday Brunch. We are not seasonal, but we have been closing for January and February, except for our Valentine’s Dinner. Due to the Pandemic, we are still figuring out the “shoulder seasons” but we have opened on or around Daylight Savings in March for the past couple years, gradually adding days of the week, and have run through the holidays. We host events all year round. We hope moving forward to develop a little bit more of a set schedule every year. That said, COVID is still with us, so always check the website for the most up to date information.
We only have complete control of our website, any other entity, even FB pages, allow edits that are not from us, so we cannot guarantee the accuracy of anything that is not on our website. We try to keep up with those, but we do not have the final say. In addition if you are looking for The Schoolhouse Café, that is not us.
No, we are The School House 1913. Yes, The Schoolhouse Café operated on this site for several years. Yes, they served mainly breakfast/lunch. We are a completely different restaurant with a focus on dinner. Our Brunch every Sunday is still an homage to many people’s fond memories of that place. The 1913 in our name is very much an identifier for online search engines due to this being a recurring issue since before we opened. If it does not say 1913, it is not us.
It opened in 1913 and ran as a Schoolhouse up through at least the 1950’s. Then it was a variety of different businesses before Richard’s, the same one that is in downtown Brunswick now, turned it into a restaurant in the 1980’s.
Seretha Brooks of Pretty Flowers based out of Brunswick. I cannot say enough about how amazing she and all the girls who take care of these beautiful gardens are.
Yes, we have a full bar, with rotating drafts as well as an amazing wine list.
Yes, we have full service on the deck, as well as several picnic tables on the property with which you can get takeout and dine. We do allow animals at the picnic tables.
No, but everything on the menu can be available for takeout. Orders may be made by calling 207-295-2029. We do not take orders before the day of pickup.
Always recommended, even for Brunch. We are a small restaurant and can fill up very quickly. We do utilize a wait list. Reservations also help us prepare. You can make them by calling or texting 207-295-2029 or emailing customerservice@schoolhouse1913.com.
506 Harpswell Neck Road, Harpswell, Maine 04079, United States