Caribou restaurateur honored by SBA
Michelle Hanson, the owner of the Caribou-based Frederick’s Southside Restaurant, has been named the winner of the Woman Owned Small Business of the Year Award for Maine by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“I’m thankful to my crew, family and everyone who helped me get where I am today,” Hanson told the Bangor Daily News. “Without them, I wouldn’t be recognized at all.”
Frederick’s was established by local entrepreneur and restaurateur Fred Hackett in 1985. Hanson joined the team at Frederick’s during her time at college. In 1989, the Caribou eatery was purchased by Michelle’s future husband Ralph Hanson — who Michelle married in 1993.
“I became part of Frederick’s once I married Ralph, and from that point on I tried to stay behind the scenes,” Hanson told the BDN. “I mostly did paperwork back then. In 2012, Ralph took ill and passed away. From that point on, my goal was to maintain the restaurant in hopes that our son Paul would show interest in operating the restaurant.”
According to the news release by the SBA, Hanson was nominated by David Spooner of the Northern Maine Development Commission.
“The SBA could not have chosen a more fitting business for Maine Woman Owned Small Business of the Year,” Spooner said in the release. “Michelle Hanson is the face of Frederick’s Southside and brings a positive energy to everything she does.”
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