HALLOWELL -- At age 58, Wendy Larson wasn't looking for a new challenge.

But when the restaurant she owned for 27 years was gutted by fire a year ago on Feb. 25, she resisted the impulse to quit. Instead, she spent the past year rebuilding Slates.

"It's definitely been a year of survival," Larson said. "We pulled together as a group of people and as a restaurant, and I think it will be a wonderful rebuilding."

As reconstruction of her landmark eatery nears completion, Larson has a renewed sense of optimism.

Choosing to rebuild, she said, "was a hard decision. I did it sort of because it was good for everybody, but it was good for me, too. Now I'm looking forward to cooking in a beautiful new kitchen."

Larson plans to reopen her restaurant by mid-March.

"Work is still going on and I don't want to give out any dates, but I have a hopeful date."

She had wanted to reopen by the fire's one-year anniversary, but construction has its own timelines.

"By the end of the week," she said, "the carpenters will be done so all the floors and everything will be done. Then it will be up to us to get in with our additions."

Slates' reopening is being anticipated by more than the restaurant's crew, said Hallowell Mayor Anthony Masciadri.

"Personally, it means 'good eggs Benedict,'" he joked. "From what I hear from the merchants, losing Slates was like losing an anchor on the street. It is a big draw. It's not going to counter the effect of the recession, but it has been important in bringing some people to town that have some money.

When Slates burned, the mayor said, "it was like losing a small manufacturing plant. It's been a big part of town and a big part of downtown. It could have left a void. We could have had a parking lot, but instead we have a wonderful restaurant."

Thomas Warner, president of the Hallowell Area Board of Trade, said Slates' reopening "will certainly be a positive step in Hallowell's future."

Larson, a Manchester resident, has kept her business alive with the Slates Bakery and the temporary, much smaller Slates Rising Grill.

The new restaurant design corrects some efficiency problems her crew encountered in the original building, offers an open kitchen where patrons can watch their food being prepared and provides handicapped-accessible bathrooms, she said.

"The physical layout is very different. The entrance is on the side of the building so people don't have to walk through the bar, so the bar is very intimate. There are a lot of improvements I love," she said.

Like the former restaurant, the new one will seat nearly 100 diners, Larson said. She expects about three-quarters of the 60 employees she had at the time of the fire to return to work.

"Change is hard and some change was needed, but it's amazing. It's been a whole year and we're still together and most of our people are coming back."

Larson said she is grateful to the community that has supported her efforts to bring her business back to life.

She declined to talk about the size of her financial loss or how much money she had to invest to reopen.

"We lost a lot, almost everything," she said. "The insurance was OK, but insurance never covers everything.

"But I don't want people thinking about that. I want them to come in and enjoy it."

Gary Remal -- 621-5642

gremal@centralmaine.com