When Colleen and Brian met at Bailey’s Restaurant and Bar in 1989, in Exton, Pennsylvania, they were both in restaurant management. They opened restaurants, trained staff, and ran everything from inventory to customer service. Over the next 22 years — and later, with their two boys — they lived in Fair Haven on and off, and came to love it.
Brian fished the local tournaments. The kids took sailing classes at the yacht club. The whole family simply loved the area, and it was that affection for Fair Haven that inspired them to look for a house in the village.
What they found instead was a business — one that had stood vacant for years, alone but not forgotten, on the West side of the bay. Brian and Colleen had always dreamed of owning their own restaurant, and once imagined they’d invest somewhere along the Main Street area they knew well. They were unfamiliar with the West side. But they decided to take a closer look, and that one decision introduced them to a whole community they had never had the chance to meet.
A new goal takes shape
After much consideration, Turtle Cove became the plan: a family restaurant with great food, a casual atmosphere, and lodging for people who wanted to enjoy the beauty of Fair Haven. Reviving a building that had gone years without care was a long project — but after extensive remodeling, Turtle Cove Restaurant was ready to open.
One of the most amazing things about owning the business is the opportunity to meet new people — a whole additional community I never realized existed.
Brian, co-owner
Bridging the community
The people who live and work on the West side are just as happy to have Turtle Cove as part of their community. It’s become a convenient and highly favored spot for breakfast, lunch, and dinner — a place where folks from all over Fair Haven and the surrounding areas mingle and mix.
That’s why the Fair Haven Chamber of Commerce named Turtle Cove its Business of the Month: for bridging the community and helping revitalize the West side of the bay.