Farnsworth Cocktail & Oyster Bar is the latest restaurant from chef/owner Josh Wagy. A progression from his first restaurant, a small sushi & yakitori spot in Downtown Toledo, Farnsworth maintains his love for seafood and focuses more deeply on their raw bar with an open kitchen, alongside a thoughtful cocktail bar.

Rich In History

The Farnsworth Cocktail & Oyster Bar resides in the old Waterville State Savings Bank. As renovations were considered, the owner was determined to maintain several of the building’s original details, including the entryway and vestibule area, the main vault, the chandelier, the tall, beautiful windows, and the customer withdrawal/deposit slip area in the corner. The rest of the building underwent complete reconstruction, including new flooring, walls, a ceiling, and mechanical systems, including gas, plumbing, and electricity. When shopping for paint colors for the restaurant, it took less than 30 seconds to make a decision, as one of the options the owner looked at was appropriately named Oyster Bar.

The small kitchen is purposefully open for guests to watch as food is prepared on the French cooktop Viking range. The restaurant’s showstoppers are the stainless steel vent hood configured in the middle of the space; a 24-foot bar, installed where the old teller stations were formerly located; and the old vault that is the restaurant’s wine/ liquor storage. In addition, the bathrooms were renovated to meet ADA requirements, the bank’s old conference room was converted to the dish, prep, and storage areas, and a new raised patio that seats 12 people was built on the east side of the building.

This bank is said to have been robbed by Baby Face Nelson’s crew in the 1930s. Their crew later joined up with John Dillinger (Many people say John Dillinger robbed this bank, and we have also heard of a shootout story here with Dillinger). A Tommy gun was then purchased by the bank manager for protection and resided in the main vault after this robbery. This Tommy gun was later donated to the Waterville Police Department by one of the building owners in the early 2000s. Here is a link for other information on the Protection for the Bank!

In the early 1950s, this bank was robbed by the “Shopping Bag Robbers.” We found a law enforcement bulletin from J. Edgar Hoover, when he was the Director of the FBI, detailing this robbery. This document is framed and hanging inside the bank.

We love hearing all the local stories about this building.