A Family Business (continued)

Current owner, Tom Mills, fell into the restaurant business long before he would create The Flying Goose and its handcrafted brews. Though this restaurant has had many lives, the experience remains the same; friendly service and an inviting family environment. This restaurant began in 1993 as the Four Corners Grille, with an ice-cream parlor downstairs. After three years of struggling to make ends meet, Mills knew he needed to make a big change if there was any hope in moving forward. This came in many ways, but more than anything was a full-blown facelift. Mills rebuilt everything and created a new identity as a brewery.

Tom came to the area in 1975 after graduation from Bowdoin College in Maine. Although having majored in math and economics, an opportunity presented itself in Peter Christian’s Restaurant. Mills started by helping manage the small restaurant, and quickly learned he had a skill for the business. Having grown up with a talented chef for a father and dabbling in the business to put himself through school, he quickly immersed himself in the quick paced, fun environment. Little did he know his background in math and economics would be the perfect recipe for success in the restaurant industry. What was supposed to be a summer job, turned into a long, successful career.

Before Mills fully committed himself to a restaurant of his own, he took time off to sail in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. He then traveled across the country with his dog, Bear, in the back of his Volkswagen bus but wound up in the same “one-horse buggy town,” as he would call it. As fate would have it, a local tavern was under foreclosure, and there was born his first restaurant, The Millstone. “I always thought that was a neat property. I put together a game plan, worked with the bank and my parents, settled 18 liens on the property, put together a purchase in 1980, and managed a loan at 18% interest.” Perhaps this is where he first caught a glimpse of the bank employee who would soon become his wife.

Mills didn’t waste any time, he gutted the place with a group of friends and future employees and before they knew it, they had a successful, operating business. He then decided it may be time to open a second location, an idea that was short lived because at the same time, his personal life was taking off. He got married to a local girl, Vicky Ladouceur, in 1982, bought a house, and became a father for the first time in 1983 to a boy by the name of Brett.

Years began to pass, in 1986 his second child was born, a girl named Jordan, and in 1988 a third, a girl named Brianna. The 1980’s were a great time for his business, it seemed as though they couldn’t do anything wrong. Then came his first recession, from 1989-1992 business went downhill for the first time.

In order to stay afloat, Mills managed a seasonal restaurant, The Anchorage, for three years located in Sunapee Harbor. In the meantime he was watching another local restaurant, The Gray House, change hands, failing to have the right person take over. Having made it through his first recession, Mills felt he had another opportunity to expand, giving The Gray House a fresh start.

The Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille is a place where the traveler, old-timer, newcomer and the seasonal resident alike, often stop for a cold draft from the micro-brewery or a more leisurely meal in the dining room. With boasting views of Mt. Kearsarge and convenient location off Interstate 89, The Flying Goose attracts families from all over. Our location has become somewhat of a landmark in New London, a true New England gem.