Ledyard — Four months after the restaurant was asked to leave its Preston location after almost 20 years in the business, Parke’s Place is back.

The restaurant has returned in a new location — the former Ledyard Family Restaurant and Buffet — and also added expanded hours and new staff.

Previously owned and operated by Parke Spicer, the former first selectman of Preston and a town fixture, Parke’s Place passed to his daughter Beverly Choti in the last five years and each of his children have worked at the establishment. The hole-in-the-wall spot was a community space in town for people to talk about local politics or grab a quick bite to eat.

When the restaurant’s previous landlord asked the eatery to vacate in March, Choti said she was “shocked.” While the stream of questions from former patrons came pouring in asking when it would reopen, Choti said she took her time looking at new places and carefully considered the work that would go into it.

Meanwhile, Spicer’s other daughter, Michele Spicer, who had recently retired from a long career at The Day, began working with Choti to become equal partners in the business, and she and Choti said they began talking seriously about reopening.

"I thought: 'You know what, I think we can do this,’” Michele Spicer said.

They were approached by Paula Crawford, who offered up the space formerly occupied by the Ledyard Family Restaurant.

Their staffs have merged somewhat, with many of the former employees from Parke’s Place now working at the new location and several of the staff members of the Ledyard Family Restaurant staying on.

On Friday evening, business was humming with longtime Parke’s Place fans and a few newcomers sampling fish and chips and Reuben sandwiches.

Tom Reed, a longtime customer of Parke's Place in Preston, was dismayed to hear it would be closing down in April. He had made the Ledyard Family Restaurant his new haunt, and was surprised when, on July 4, he arrived to find his favorite restaurant had followed him to town.

“It’s really great to see them back in business,” he said.

The Ledyard location will add about 15 more seats than the Preston location had, as well as outdoor seating, and will be open until 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The menu will be the same as it was at the old location, including favorites like corned beef and cabbage, with a few potential additions as the place gets up and running.

"I think it was a blessing: when one door closes, I think another opens,” Choti said.

Beyond additional seats, the restaurant has begun offering ice cream at the counter and will be offering specials during the evenings, including standbys fish and chips, roasts and adding prime rib. The owners also hope to offer a live acoustic music night in the future.

Though no longer officially at the helm due to health reasons, Parke Spicer still will be a fixture at the new location.

“He’s kind of like the governor of the place,” Michele Spicer said. “He sits here and talks to everyone, knows so many people."

The re-launch of Parke’s Place is "going to follow dad’s business model,” she continued, and incorporate the things that made the restaurant a success when it first opened.

Even when the restaurant closed for holidays, it never abandoned its regulars.

“If we closed (for holidays), we were like everyone’s family,” Michele Spicer added. They cooked meals the day before and drove them out to longtime customers to enjoy when the restaurant closed.

That tradition will continue, she said.

The sisters also are excited about the Johnson and Wales-trained chef Meredith McCrave, a recent hire they incorporated from the Ledyard Family Restaurant, who they said is bringing in herbs from her garden and other fresh elements to the restaurant’s menu.

Parke’s Place completed the transition July 11 and hopes to have a grand opening in the coming weeks.

n.lynch@theday.com