A new restaurant on Johnson's Lower Main Street bears an old sign. Those who remember Marsala Salsa might recognize it. The restaurant served up its multicultural menu of Mexican and Caribbean cuisine for more than two decades in Waterbury before closing in 2012. Its handcrafted wooden sign, adorned with a palm tree, now hangs above the door of a reborn Marsala Salsa.

While the restaurant is new to Johnson, its 61-year-old chef-owner, Jan Chotalal, has called the town home for 22 years.

From the time Chotalal opened it, Marsala Salsa was a staple on Waterbury's Stowe Street. Its cuisine was eclectic, with dishes such as shrimp saag and tandoori beef reflecting Chotalal's Caribbean upbringing and her family's Indian heritage; she also offered popular Mexican fare, including an assortment of tacos, enchiladas and burritos. For Chotalal, the common thread was fresh flavor. She had a dedicated staff, loyal customers and a business that felt more like a family, she recalled. But in July 2012, it all came crashing down.

At age 50, Chotalal was diagnosed with breast cancer. At the same time, she unexpectedly lost her lease. It was a devastating one-two punch.

Fast-forward to 2023, and Chotalal is cancer-free and starting again. Initially, she said, some locals doubted that Johnson was ready for a multiethnic family restaurant owned and operated by a woman of color. But the proof is in the dining room, which has been packed with patrons since Marsala Salsa's soft opening in mid-March.

"I had no clue the reception would be so overwhelming when I decided to play with the idea and reopen Marsala Salsa," Chotalal said. "I'm so grateful and humbled and pleased that the community just basically welcomed me."

While Marsala Salsa is the third restaurant to occupy Johnson's 21 Lower Main Street, it is dramatically different from the two pizza pubs that preceded it. Chotalal said she's still operating with a limited menu, due mostly to a lack of specialized kitchen equipment, but customers can already choose from Caribbean, Mexican and Italian fare.

The Italian dishes are new to Marsala Salsa — a nod to the restaurants that previously occupied the space. But Chotalal had a feeling the town would welcome some extra variety.

"I think Johnson's ready for that different cuisine," she said. "It's a transition. I see it happening."

I saw it happening, too, when a couple of friends and I were seated at a table by the front window on a recent Friday evening.

We started with a round of appetizers, including the three-dip combo ($14), which featured homemade hummus, guacamole and salsa, served with tricolor tortilla chips and chewy, thick toasted naan. By contrast, the hummus was light and airy.

The jalapeño poppers ($9.95) were not your chain-restaurant variety. Three extra-large, fresh peppers were stuffed generously with Monterey Jack, battered and baked. Served with a sour cream salsa dip, they would have made a hearty meal by themselves.

I ordered dal ($7.50), an Indian split pea soup with cilantro, onions and garlic, which was flavorful and spicy — but not too spicy. I'm already anticipating craving this soup next winter.

Chotalal said her motto is "Keep it fresh. Keep it simple. Keep it tasty." That rang true after the appetizer round.

For the main event, I ordered the West Indies brown chicken ($18), a mild and slightly sweet dish of chicken and vegetables, served over rice with warm naan. I'm a big fan of comfort food, and this entrée fit snugly into that category.

My friend Zoé ordered a chimichanga ($13.50, including a side salad), filled with chicken chili and Monterey Jack and topped with guacamole and sour cream. She said it was delicious and "checked all the boxes."

My friend Todd settled on the grilled island shrimp ($18.95), a more delicate offering that was not overly filling. Served on a bed of rice, the jerk-marinated grilled shrimp were topped with a creamy jerk sauce and a honey-ginger sauce. The dish came with a West Indian salad, a refreshing slaw made with cabbage, carrots, cucumbers and chickpeas.

On the other side of the dining room, Gerry Ghazi and Julie Davis of Cambridge had met up with friends from Morristown. Davis said she and Ghazi are often at odds when it comes to eating out. He likes Italian; she likes variety. Marsala Salsa is a place they can agree on.

Davis, a self-described food critic, gave her meal an A-plus. She enjoyed curry chicken ($17.95) and a tropical salad ($9.25). Ghazi ordered chicken Parmesan served over spaghetti marinara ($16.75).

"I'm half Italian," he said. "My mom makes everything from scratch ... and this was some of the best chicken Parmesan I've ever had. The sauce, outstanding."

In addition to a modest selection of beer and wine, Marsala Salsa has a drink menu with a full page of specialty margaritas. The blackberry margarita ($15.75), with house-infused blackberry syrup and fresh blackberry and lime garnish, was a favorite at our table, as was the Hibiscus Kiss ($15.75), with house-infused hibiscus syrup and a hibiscus sugar rim. Diners can also have their margs with house-infused raspberry-lime or blueberry-basil tequila for an extra charge.

"We sell out of margaritas practically every night," Chotalal said.

Despite the popularity of her drink menu, Chotalal is making an effort to create a family-friendly dining experience. To transform the space from a pub into a family restaurant, she started by removing the pool table and the television behind the bar. Then she cut the line of 13 taps down to three, added bright, warm colors to the walls and adorned them with Mexican sombreros that had been part of the décor at her Waterbury location.

The space is still a work in progress, Chotalal said. Next to go will be the massive double pizza oven and cooling system that loom over the back half of the dining room.

Before 21 Lower Main was a restaurant, it was a cramped family-owned hardware store. Now the Beard Hardware sign hangs in the back of the dining room, along with a growing collection of antique keys, hardware and tools mounted on distressed wood. Chotalal has been asking customers and neighbors to add to the collection of memorabilia from the store. The decorations complement the rich, narrow-plank hardwood floor, left over from the hardware store days.

As it happens, the site of the first Marsala Salsa in downtown Waterbury also once housed a family-owned hardware store. When Chotalal opened the place in 1991, Waterbury wasn't the restaurant town it is today.

A single mother of three, Chotalal had come to Vermont from New York City, where restaurant wages were much higher. If she was going to provide for her family here, she reasoned, she would have to work for herself.

"I wanted to be the groundbreaker of opening something new and different — and women-owned," she said.

Chotalal said she feels the Johnson community has wholeheartedly welcomed her, just as Waterbury did back in the day. But it's not just locals filling the seats. Patrons of the original Marsala Salsa have been making the trip to Johnson to rediscover her cuisine.

Erin Campos, once a regular in Waterbury, is planning a trip to the Johnson restaurant with her mother and daughter. When she gets there, Campos knows exactly what she will order — the West Indies brown chicken, which she said she has tried to re-create in her own kitchen over the years, to no avail.

"I can't wait to actually eat it again," she said.

As her former patrons find their way back, Chotalal is doing her best to fulfill requests for some old favorites, such as vindaloo veggies, that haven't made it onto the menu yet. While she's happy to field those special requests, she said, she is growing the menu at an intentional pace.

"I'm not really in a rush," Chotalal said. "I'm here for the whole journey ... of being a big part of this community and growing."