FRYE ISLAND – For some two decades, the Frye’s Leap Cafe? and General Store on Frye Island has been a popular destination for boaters cruising through the “Gut,” a channel of water passing between the island and Raymond Cape. It is, after all, the only full-service restaurant with docks on Sebago Lake.

But since Amy and Dave Wagner purchased the business three years ago, they have seen an increasing share of customers show up on foot. To Dave Wagner, a Frye Island summer resident who works in information technology, it is a sign that the couple’s professional approach is paying off.

“Before it was mostly people coming in on boats because it was part of the boating experience,” Wagner said. “ ‘Hey, let’s go to Frye’s Leap, it’s a novelty,’ and things like that. And the people on the island were like, ‘Eh, I’m not sure I really want to do that.’ As we’ve improved the consistency, as we’ve improved our speed, as we’ve improved the service, we’re seeing the number of people from the island increasing.”

The business, which is named after the eponymous 80-foot cliff across the “Gut,” is located on the first floor of the Frye Island municipal building, along the northeastern shore of the island. In recent years, the Wagners have initiated a host of changes, whether selling fresh produce at the general store, installing fryers, expanding the kitchen, hoisting an “open” sign at the end of the dock, introducing 12 rotating beer taps, or expanding the length of the bar by 10 feet.

Wagner believes that the changes have attracted more Frye Islanders, many of whom typically dine out on the mainland. According to Wagner, about half of his business comes from boaters, and half from people on foot.

Lois O’Connor, who founded Frye’s Leap in the mid-1980s and sold it to Bob and Jean Russo in 2002, said that about 70 percent of her business came from boaters when she owned the restaurant. O’Connor, a Raymond resident who owns Sunset Lakes Real Estate, said she hears good things about Frye’s Leap when she visits the island for her new business.

“He’s improved it,” O’Connor said. “He definitely has. Now they have a karaoke night, and they might have a trivia night. They’ve provided more entertainment for the island, which is nice. I talked to the islanders all the time and there’s nothing negative. Not at all. And when I first left, everybody was like, ‘Oh, Lois, we miss you, we miss you.’ ”

Dave Wagner hails originally from Long Island, N.Y., while Amy Wagner is from Fairfield, Conn. The Wagners purchased a summer home on Frye Island in 2003, long before they thought of purchasing Frye’s Leap. They spend their winters in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“When we moved to Arizona, and we experienced 115 degree heat, Amy said, ‘This is not really where I want to spend my summers,’ ” Wagner said. “At that point we bought a home on the island.”

Eventually, the couple became so captivated by the “romantic idea” of running their own business that they purchased Frye’s Leap.

The Wagners readily admit that there are challenges involved in the endeavor, including ensuring an adequate food supply by pressuring distributors to venture onto the island.

“They don’t want to come here a lot,” Wagner said. “We’re not on (Route) 302. It’s not an easy drive for them to get here.”

Running Frye’s Leap involves a fair amount of workforce training, as well. Nearly three-quarters of the primarily part-time summer labor force are teenagers whose parents are Frye Island summer residents. For most, it is their first job.

O’Connor recalled having difficulties getting the children of Frye Island to focus on the job when she owned Frye’s Leap.

“It’s a tough business, I can tell you that,” O’Connor said. “I used to tease, when people said, ‘What do you do for a living?’ I said, ‘I control raging hormones.’ Because I would hire 40 teenagers and, like I said, their summer goals were not, ‘How I can take care of Frye’s Leap clients?’ It was like, ‘How am I going to have fun?’”

Wagner said he has particularly enjoyed introducing new craft beers to the restaurant’s lineup. Recently, he has sold Piraat, a Belgian beer, recommended to him by a Frye Island resident who sits on the board of directors of the company that imports it.

“Each owner has sort of put their own stamp on it and made some changes,” Wagner said. “We put in the rotating taps in the bar, so we have craft beer. We built that whole nice bar in there.”

Business at Frye’s Leap has increased annually by 10 percent for the past three years. The location’s enduring popularity is no mystery to the Wagners.

“You can pull right up in your boat,” Wagner said. “You’re not dragging it on shore. You’ve got these docks that are easy to access. And then you’ve got the ability to come up and get anything from a steak bomb to fried clams to a pizza to what-have-you, enjoy a nice craft beer, enjoy your frozen drink. When you’re done have an ice cream over at our ice cream stand, if you want to get some ice or chips or something like that you can go into the general store. We’ve got something of a one-stop shop for folks.”

Amy and Dave Wagner, who have owned a summer home on Frye Island since 2003, purchased the Frye’s Leap Café and General Store three years ago. Business has increased by 10 percent annually, according to the Wagners.