‘Yes Chef’ finalist Lee Frank to close Otis in Exeter: Here’s why

Otis restaurant is closing after nearly 10 years in downtown Exeter, its chef and owner, Lee Frank, announced on Facebook.

Frank, a two-time James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef Northeast, opened Otis in 2015 at 4 Front St., serving his brand of modern American food. He has since opened other restaurants like Lee Frank’s in Exeter and appeared on NBC’s “Yes Chef!” hosted by Martha Stewart.

Frank announced Feb. 20 that he was told by the building’s landlord that their lease would not be renewed. He said a final day open is still being determined, but that it will likely be in May.

“It’s never easy to say goodbye, but Otis was just one restaurant amongst an amazing dining scene here in Exeter,” Frank wrote. “We will miss seeing so many familiar faces and always welcoming new ones as well.”

Otis chef helped redefine Exeter dining

Frank has been cooking and living on the Seacoast since 2005, according to his bio on the Otis website. He grew up in Los Angeles before starting his career in San Francisco in 1997. He worked at the famous Lark Creek Inn, owned by Chef Bradley Ogden, where he really started to “cut his chops,” his bio states.

Frank also worked at Bonta Restaurant in Hampton, Brazo in Portsmouth, and MC Perkins Cove in Ogunquit, Maine. He climbed his way to running Arrows Restaurant as executive chef, where he learned to “execute fine food, but also focus on the details that it takes to operate a restaurant.”

After Arrows closed, Frank became executive chef at Anneke Jans in Kittery, where he learned more about business from owner Jason Canty.

The opportunity to open Otis came in 2016 when the owners of the Inn by the Bandstand reached out to him about their attached restaurant space.

Frank has since been regarded as a pioneer for fine dining in Exeter, where the restaurant scene has continued to grow. He was nominated in 2024 and 2025 for the coveted James Beard Best Chef Northeast. He has also continued to invest in Exeter, opening Lee Frank’s in 2024 on Portsmouth Avenue, which will remain open.

Patrons of Otis: Closing ‘breaks my heart’

Frank wrote that he and his family and staff have been extremely thankful to have been part of the restaurant community as long as they have. He wrote that it included tough times like the COVID-19 pandemic, when restaurants were temporarily forced to close.

“Through all of the challenges we faced, from continued rising costs to a complete shutdown due to the COVID pandemic, you all happily showed up,” Frank wrote. “From our transition of an à la carte menu to strictly 5-course tasting menus that changed each and every week, you never wavered in your support of our small little restaurant.”

Fans of Otis wrote on Facebook in response to Lee’s post with sadness and well wishes.

Those who left comments credited Frank with bringing an impactful restaurant to Exeter.

“This really breaks my heart,” one user wrote. “You single-handedly changed the food scene in Exeter.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald. Reporting by Max Sullivan