Sutton’s Restaurant, LLC, opened in early March on Sutton Road in Gloucester.

Lee Stotesberry owns the restaurant with his wife, Wanda. Stotesberry said that although neither has owned a restaurant before, they saw the opportunity to reopen a restaurant where a popular eatery had operated before.

Many of the staff have worked for one or more of the restaurant’s previous owners, Stotesberry said, and several worked for the original owner, Mary Sutton.

Stotesberry said they are using the recipe for the popular crab cakes for which Mary Sutton’s dining room was well known, as well as offering daily specials for breakfast, lunch and dinner—the same specials on the same day each week—which proved popular when the restaurant operated in the past.

"This is a family-style restaurant," Stotesberry said. On a recent weekend night, he said, many customers lingered, most knowing each other and enjoying casual conversation with friends.

Sutton’s Restaurant is open seven days a week, with breakfast, lunch and dinner served Wednesday-Saturday. On Sundays, breakfast and lunch are served, with breakfast and lunch served Mondays and Tuesdays and dinner available those nights if the restaurant is booked by a civic or religious group.

Fresh-made desserts are featured regularly, Stotesberry said, including an assortment of pies and cakes.

The Stotesberrys employ about 10 people. They rent the building from Connie Sutton, daughter-in-law of restaurant founder Mary Sutton.

The family resides on Hall Town Road, White Marsh. He also owns Stotesberry Construction, while his wife owns Hall Town Kennels.