Popular Waterbury eatery is on the market

Diane Huber, who manages front-of-house service operations at Tanglewoods, said the couple plans to spend more time relaxing with family.

She and husband Carl, the restaurant’s head chef, recently bought a house and 10 acres where they plan to spend their less hectic days.

Diane Huber said after a quarter-century serving up creative American cuisine and pleasing patrons from around the world, the time has come for a change.

“Our kids are all grown and neither one wants to stay in the restaurant business either. We’re all kind of ready to move on,” she said. “It’s just a lot of work.”

Huber said the restaurant industry has changed considerably since Tanglewoods opened. She hopes whoever buys the venue will reopen it as a restaurant.

“Times are changing and there really needs to be a whole new approach to running a restaurant,” she said. “And, after 25 years, we’re all just ready for something simple.”

The Tanglewoods building dates back to 1944, when it was built as a replacement barn for the Guptil Farm, once owned by one of Waterbury’s earliest settlers, Stephen Guptil.

The Hubers purchased the property from Stowe resident Hubert Erhard in 1989. Erhard, an Austrian native, had previously lived in Aspen and owned a restaurant there called the Golden Horn. He later moved to Stowe and began looking for a location to start a new business. At the suggestion of an acquaintance, he visited the old barn building in Waterbury. Erhard still vividly remembers walking through the building’s front doors for the first time.

“I had a picture almost immediately in my imagination what could be done out of this place. The result is a restaurant,” Erhard said.

Erhard purchased the property in December 1976 and, after conducting extensive renovations, opened the Golden Horn East that summer.

According to Erhard, the design of the restaurant — from the main dining area to the kitchen — has remained virtually unchanged during the 25 years the Hubers have run Tanglewoods.

The property is currently listed on the market at $750,000. Until it sells, it will be business as usual for the Hubers. Diane Huber said the family would continue serving food until the sale paperwork is signed and the location changes hands.

“It’s a unique property and hopefully someone with an equally unique vision will take over,” she said.

In the meantime, the restaurant’s patrons still have time to stop in for a plate of house-made crabmeat ravioli, sesame coriander crusted tuna steak, buttermilk fried chicken medallions or grilled New York sirloin in Kentucky Bourbon sauce.

Tanglewoods is open Tuesday through Sunday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Call 244-7855 for reservations and more information.