November 13, 2006
A full plate | New restaurants are bringing zip to L-A's culinary scene
By Zack Anchors
Lewiston-Auburn has always had its share of good places to eat, whether it's the 98-year-old Simones' hot dog stand downtown or a family diner like Mac's Grill on a busy highway a little ways out of town. But what Mac's co-owner Paul Landry and many other twin cities residents have always craved is a true culinary scene ˆ a variety of restaurants that would make L-A a dining destination.
That desire motivated Landry last year to open Fishbones American Grill in Lewiston's Bates Mill Complex, a restaurant that's a significant departure from the 12-year-old Mac's. "It's more like a Portland-style restaurant than a L-A-style restaurant," says Landry. "It's not stuffy ˆ you don't have to wear a tie ˆ but we're offering more of a full-service dining experience. We're trying to establish L-A as a culinary place to be."
Fishbones is just one of at least 15 restaurants that have opened in L-A in recent years ˆ including ethnic restaurants, cafes and just about everything in between ˆ bringing a diversity of dining options previously available only in cities with more established restaurant scenes, such as Portland. L-A has even attracted at least two Portland-based establishments, Gritty McDuff's and Espo's Trattoria, to open restaurants. "There has been about seven or eight hundred seats added in the area in the last year or two," says Landry.
Landry's estimate of the area's restaurant growth, which includes franchises like Ruby Tuesday and Longhorn Steakhouse that have opened near the retail centers around the Auburn Mall, is backed up by statistics. Annual sales tax collected from restaurants in the L-A area has grown 17% since 2003, to $109 million, according to Maine Revenue Services. While still far below Portland's $336 million in sales tax receipts, L-A's growth rate surpassed Portland's 10% increase during the same period.
The action in L-A's culinary scene has not taken place in a vacuum. With an estimated $210 million invested in downtown economic development projects in recent years, businesses like Oxford Networks and Northeast Bank moving their headquarters to L-A, and developments like the new Wal-Mart distribution center bringing additional jobs, the boom in restaurants may be spurred by the area's overall economic growth. What's more, with L-A adding to its mix of entertainment and cultural activities, such as hockey games at the Colisee and concerts at the Franco-American Heritage Center, area entrepreneurs see patrons who may be looking for a bite to eat while visitng town.
For long-established restaurants, that growth can mean more competition. But Jim Simones, owner of Simones' hot dog stand, is not worried he will lose customers to newer places like Café Bon Bon. "Business is great in the twin cities," says Simones, whose grandparents opened his business in 1908. "We're established, so we have our clientele, our base. We have a good cross-section of the state and the community. And with the economic expansion of the city, it's getting even bigger."
A lunchtime crowd
These days, Simones' is open for breakfast and lunch only, but gets a lot of business from the increased population of professionals working in downtown offices. To cater to that crowd, Simones even had wireless Internet service installed last year so people can bring their laptops or BlackBerries with them to lunch.
Simones' used to stay open through dinnertime, back when there was more activity and nightlife downtown. But after many of L-A's retail businesses moved from downtown to shopping centers, evening business became too slow, Simones says, and the restaurant stopped serving dinner in the 1970s. "It wouldn't be advantageous for us [to be open at night] at this time, but if something happens to start bringing people out, maybe we would," he says.
Paul Badeau, marketing director of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, believes an abundance of restaurants in L-A will go hand-in-hand with developing vibrant arts and entertainment opportunities, more retail businesses and general economic growth. "We're a service-centered community now. So people who live halfway between L-A and Augusta or L-A and Portland are eating here now instead of driving to Augusta or Portland," Badeau says. "What this has resulted in is options, to which a lot of people who have lived in L-A are saying, 'Hallelujah.'"
Although the most dramatic growth in restaurants has occurred within the last few years, Badeau said some restaurant owners, like Jules Patry, saw the area's potential early on. Eleven years ago, Patry opened the Italian restaurant Da Vinci's in the newly renovated Bates Mill complex. He welcomes the arrival of new restaurants, and says being known as a good restaurant town will help all Lewiston establishments.
"It was difficult at the beginning to get people to consider downtown as a dining alterative," says Patry. "Now, it's more of a destination for everybody. It's a more vibrant market."
Patry says business at Da Vinci's has remained strong, but he acknowledges that he's felt the effect of the competition. With restaurants like the new Espo's Trattoria, the expanded Marco's Restaurant and a host of chain restaurants serving a similar style of casual family fare, Patry is looking for new ways to appeal to customers. Soon, Da Vinci's will move to a new space around the corner. "We'll have al fresco dining and more parking," he says. "It allows us the opportunity for us to change and keep pace with the new restaurants."
Although Da Vinci's was one of the first tenants to fill a space in the old mills, the buildings now host a range of businesses, including Fishbones and soon, a national franchise, Barnie's Coffee and Tea Company.
Old mill buildings go a long way in giving downtown L-A a distinct atmosphere, but there are other qualities that make the area a unique market for restaurant owners. Ed Stebbins, co-owner of Gritty McDuff's, says his year-and-a-half-old Gritty's in Auburn balances out patterns seen at his other two brewpubs. "It's a very steady business. It's not so influenced by tourism," Stebbins says. "That's very different from our Freeport and Portland restaurants, and we're very pleased with that."
Stebbins was attracted to Auburn for a number of reasons. "For one thing, it's a really attractive downtown area and we're in a gorgeous building," he says. "I also have family there. But we really just felt it was time ˆ L-A is the focal point of central Maine."
For many locals who work downtown, the new restaurants can make the lunch break a little more exciting than it used to be. L/A Arts Director Andrew Harris says he takes every opportunity to try out new restaurants. He also says the variety of dining options has helped his organization achieve its mission of boosting arts and cultural activities in the area. In December, L/A Arts will sponsor a Victorian-themed Christmas Dinner at the new fine dining restaurant in the Munroe Inn, and next spring the group plans an "Arts and Ale" fundraiser at Gritty's, featuring an art auction. "We promote arts events, and if we have a concert going on, it's great to be able to align with a restaurant," Harris says.
One potential collaboration Harris is most excited about is with a wine bar and restaurant planned for Lisbon street called Fuel and Press. "This is going to be a very different dining experience," says Harris. "And there will be a space dedicated for art."
But even as most diners and restaurateurs welcome diversity in the L/A scene, others, like Penny Drumm, who works at the L/A Arts box office, say they plan to stick with what they're used to. "I'm a picky eater," says Drumm. "It's Subway and Simones for me."
That desire motivated Landry last year to open Fishbones American Grill in Lewiston's Bates Mill Complex, a restaurant that's a significant departure from the 12-year-old Mac's. "It's more like a Portland-style restaurant than a L-A-style restaurant," says Landry. "It's not stuffy ˆ you don't have to wear a tie ˆ but we're offering more of a full-service dining experience. We're trying to establish L-A as a culinary place to be."
Fishbones is just one of at least 15 restaurants that have opened in L-A in recent years ˆ including ethnic restaurants, cafes and just about everything in between ˆ bringing a diversity of dining options previously available only in cities with more established restaurant scenes, such as Portland. L-A has even attracted at least two Portland-based establishments, Gritty McDuff's and Espo's Trattoria, to open restaurants. "There has been about seven or eight hundred seats added in the area in the last year or two," says Landry.
Landry's estimate of the area's restaurant growth, which includes franchises like Ruby Tuesday and Longhorn Steakhouse that have opened near the retail centers around the Auburn Mall, is backed up by statistics. Annual sales tax collected from restaurants in the L-A area has grown 17% since 2003, to $109 million, according to Maine Revenue Services. While still far below Portland's $336 million in sales tax receipts, L-A's growth rate surpassed Portland's 10% increase during the same period.
The action in L-A's culinary scene has not taken place in a vacuum. With an estimated $210 million invested in downtown economic development projects in recent years, businesses like Oxford Networks and Northeast Bank moving their headquarters to L-A, and developments like the new Wal-Mart distribution center bringing additional jobs, the boom in restaurants may be spurred by the area's overall economic growth. What's more, with L-A adding to its mix of entertainment and cultural activities, such as hockey games at the Colisee and concerts at the Franco-American Heritage Center, area entrepreneurs see patrons who may be looking for a bite to eat while visitng town.
For long-established restaurants, that growth can mean more competition. But Jim Simones, owner of Simones' hot dog stand, is not worried he will lose customers to newer places like Café Bon Bon. "Business is great in the twin cities," says Simones, whose grandparents opened his business in 1908. "We're established, so we have our clientele, our base. We have a good cross-section of the state and the community. And with the economic expansion of the city, it's getting even bigger."
A lunchtime crowd
These days, Simones' is open for breakfast and lunch only, but gets a lot of business from the increased population of professionals working in downtown offices. To cater to that crowd, Simones even had wireless Internet service installed last year so people can bring their laptops or BlackBerries with them to lunch.
Simones' used to stay open through dinnertime, back when there was more activity and nightlife downtown. But after many of L-A's retail businesses moved from downtown to shopping centers, evening business became too slow, Simones says, and the restaurant stopped serving dinner in the 1970s. "It wouldn't be advantageous for us [to be open at night] at this time, but if something happens to start bringing people out, maybe we would," he says.
Paul Badeau, marketing director of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council, believes an abundance of restaurants in L-A will go hand-in-hand with developing vibrant arts and entertainment opportunities, more retail businesses and general economic growth. "We're a service-centered community now. So people who live halfway between L-A and Augusta or L-A and Portland are eating here now instead of driving to Augusta or Portland," Badeau says. "What this has resulted in is options, to which a lot of people who have lived in L-A are saying, 'Hallelujah.'"
Although the most dramatic growth in restaurants has occurred within the last few years, Badeau said some restaurant owners, like Jules Patry, saw the area's potential early on. Eleven years ago, Patry opened the Italian restaurant Da Vinci's in the newly renovated Bates Mill complex. He welcomes the arrival of new restaurants, and says being known as a good restaurant town will help all Lewiston establishments.
"It was difficult at the beginning to get people to consider downtown as a dining alterative," says Patry. "Now, it's more of a destination for everybody. It's a more vibrant market."
Patry says business at Da Vinci's has remained strong, but he acknowledges that he's felt the effect of the competition. With restaurants like the new Espo's Trattoria, the expanded Marco's Restaurant and a host of chain restaurants serving a similar style of casual family fare, Patry is looking for new ways to appeal to customers. Soon, Da Vinci's will move to a new space around the corner. "We'll have al fresco dining and more parking," he says. "It allows us the opportunity for us to change and keep pace with the new restaurants."
Although Da Vinci's was one of the first tenants to fill a space in the old mills, the buildings now host a range of businesses, including Fishbones and soon, a national franchise, Barnie's Coffee and Tea Company.
Old mill buildings go a long way in giving downtown L-A a distinct atmosphere, but there are other qualities that make the area a unique market for restaurant owners. Ed Stebbins, co-owner of Gritty McDuff's, says his year-and-a-half-old Gritty's in Auburn balances out patterns seen at his other two brewpubs. "It's a very steady business. It's not so influenced by tourism," Stebbins says. "That's very different from our Freeport and Portland restaurants, and we're very pleased with that."
Stebbins was attracted to Auburn for a number of reasons. "For one thing, it's a really attractive downtown area and we're in a gorgeous building," he says. "I also have family there. But we really just felt it was time ˆ L-A is the focal point of central Maine."
For many locals who work downtown, the new restaurants can make the lunch break a little more exciting than it used to be. L/A Arts Director Andrew Harris says he takes every opportunity to try out new restaurants. He also says the variety of dining options has helped his organization achieve its mission of boosting arts and cultural activities in the area. In December, L/A Arts will sponsor a Victorian-themed Christmas Dinner at the new fine dining restaurant in the Munroe Inn, and next spring the group plans an "Arts and Ale" fundraiser at Gritty's, featuring an art auction. "We promote arts events, and if we have a concert going on, it's great to be able to align with a restaurant," Harris says.
One potential collaboration Harris is most excited about is with a wine bar and restaurant planned for Lisbon street called Fuel and Press. "This is going to be a very different dining experience," says Harris. "And there will be a space dedicated for art."
But even as most diners and restaurateurs welcome diversity in the L/A scene, others, like Penny Drumm, who works at the L/A Arts box office, say they plan to stick with what they're used to. "I'm a picky eater," says Drumm. "It's Subway and Simones for me."
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments