If you drive Best Road very often, you have likely noticed the shuttered former gas station, grocery, and diner known as The Rex, situated in the Rexville area, just before the bridge to Fir Island. Closed due to health issues of the owner, it has sat neglected for months, but no longer. Jane Schmidt and Karl Schinman bought it last week and already have started renovations.

A perfect couple to take on the task, she is a former manager at The Channel Lodge and he is the owner of a construction company. Just tackling the pruning of the enormous wisteria vine over the patio, and the blackberries across the back fence might have been too much for some, but not these two. Karl has already regraveled the parking lots and Jane is getting paint-splattered as she tackles the interior of the small bakery building next door to the main building. Schmidt has a very clear vision for what she wants the place to be: a place comfortable and inviting for everyone, from the fisherman coming off the river who wants a beer to the tourist wanting a good sandwich to the couple wanting a nice cocktail. They have a lot to do before that vision is realized.

During this early phase of prep, their short term goal is to get the former professional bakery opened as The Rex Dessert Bar. Depending on approval from the Health Department, they hope to have a simple space open by mid-April that will offer sandwiches and snacks, pies and ice cream. Getting a liquor license will take a while, and getting the larger building prime time ready will take several months, Karl estimates. None of that dampens their enthusiasm for this project. If all goes according to plan, what was The Rex will soon reemerge as The Rex Bistro and Dessert Bar.