CAMDEN — The Drouthy Bear, Camden’s authentic Scottish pub, is swinging its doors wide open Saturday, Sept. 12, at 11 a.m. for a long-awaited grand opening. The thirsty and hungry have been stopping by with anticipation for the past few weeks; really, they have been poking their heads in ever since Andrew Stewart and his brother-in-law, Chris Pinchbeck, began ripping into the walls at 50 Elm St. in downtown Camden last April, transforming the former Good House into a comfortable pub where Scotch whisky and beer will be served alongside boiled eggs wrapped in sausage, rolled in bread crumbs and fried.

That’s not to mention the meat and pork, and vegetarian pies, clapshot, interesting desserts, bangers and mash, and other Scottish fare. And, afternoon tea, served with clotted cream! Accompanied by scones and finger sandwiches.

“We’re opening,” said Stewart, decisively, in that clipped non-nonsense Scottish way of his. But he grinned, looking around at the last vestiges of renovation chaos, with kids and dogs filtering through, and hammers still banging.

The downstairs of the pub includes a long bar, big and small tables, and a kitchen in the back that is gleaming silver, waiting for the first orders. On one side is a cozy dining room with Scottish prints and photos — true conversation starters — hanging on the walls.

“Drouthy” means dry or thirsty. Andrew and his wife, Shannon, previously owned Hope General Store, and after helping the nonprofit Hope Elephants, they invested in the Drouthy Bear, an enterprise Andrew had been mulling over for months.

This pub is a traditionally Scottish, and will be a place where the community goes to visit and eat. It is for families, not a place where drinkers are throwing back shots, said Andrew. But there will be whiskey, 20 to 30 types of Scotch, representing different regions of Scotland, as well as British and Scottish beer.

And there will be interesting cuisine at reasonable prices, he said. (See dining and takeout menus to the side)

“We’ve got all our staff, including Creig Mills, and Dan Cummings, who used to run Billy’s Tavern,” he said. “I’m really pleased with the guys in the kitchen.”

Mills is, “an amazing chef,” said Andrew. He had been in the region attending the Apprenticeshop. “I put an ad in the paper and he responded.”

Mills wasn’t in the kitchen two days before opening, but Cummings was, along with kitchen assistant Joseph Moriarty. The music — a video of Too Many Zoos playing at Union Station in New York City — was bouncing from his iPhone, which sat in a kitchen pan next to a large bag of fresh parsley.

“I’m fully confident everything will come together,” said Cummings. “I am excited. I’ve cooked in a lot of different restaurants but never cooked this type of food. Creig is very familiar with this type of food. He trained at the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and has owned several restaurants based on food of the British Isles.”

The menu will also include cheese plates, with locally-sourced cheeses.

“It will probably shift on what’s available,” said Cummings. “We will go to different places and get what we can.”

There will be plates for children — hummus and crackers and apples.

And there will be takeout, with a warming cabinet sitting next to the bar.

During the reconstruction of 50 Elm St., carpenters uncovered a substantial old brick fireplace that sits central to the establishment. There is a beam above it, charred black, half telling the tale of a fire long ago. Andrew is in the process of researching the history of the house with the Historical Society.

The Drouthy Bear will sit 40 to 50, and parking will be “downtown.” The driveway is not for parking, except for the handicapped. But there are plenty of parking spaces around on side streets, and Stewart has leased parking spaces from the backside of 75 Elm Street.

The pub will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the kitchen open until 9 p.m. It will be closed Sunday and Monday, “for the moment,” said Andrew.

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Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at LyndaClancy@PenBayPilot.com; 207-706-6657