HALLOWELL -- The public will get its first peek at the rejuvenated Slates restaurant Sunday.

The business was destroyed in a fire more than a year ago. Slates owner Wendy Larson said she plans an open house Sunday from 2-4 p.m.

"We're opening with an open house just for people to come and see Slates," Larson said. "We're not going to be open for dinner. So many people just wanted to see what it looked like."

A reopening date hasn't yet been set at the popular eatery, with finish work still being done, according to Larson.

Her plans are to open quietly, without an announcement, to give staff a chance to get used to the new surroundings amid a smaller crowd.

"I can't say when that will be quite yet. It depends on so many things," Larson said. "We're very close, but we're not there yet."

She said she expects her liquor license to be finalized this week, and all other necessary permits have been obtained.

Larson said work is still being completed on her restaurant's grand new bar, and on the entrances.

"The paperwork is all done," she said. "It's mostly access and doing things to make it nicer.

"It's the details. They do take the longest."

Larson said she has purposely kept wraps on the project to keep interest high among her patrons, "so it'll be a surprise."

She was willing to say her new bistro will include artifacts salvaged from the fire that destroyed the original Slates, to make the connection between new and old.

"There'll be a lot you'll recognize and a lot that's brand new," she said.

Hallowell Mayor Anthony Masciadri said his community has been looking forward to Slates reopening, for sentimental and practical reasons.

Larson's open house Sunday could be overwhelmed with visitors who have been anxious to see Slates in operation again, he said.

"With only a two-hour period, it's going to be packed," Masciadri predicted.

And he doubts Larson's plan to open slowly will keep down crowd sizes.

"She's not going to avoid that because once the word is out people will flood in," Masciadri said.

"I don't think I'll be able to get in for two or three weeks."

Gary Remal -- 621-5642

gremal@centralmaine.com