COURTESY / JUMPING ROCKS PHOTOGRAPHY, THE B&B TEAM
The 128-year-old Pentagöet Inn & Wine Bar, on Main Street in Castine, is the coastal town’s oldest summer hotel.
June 5, 2023
Castine's Pentagoet Inn is one of 25 nationally to receive preservation grant
PHOTO / DAVID CLOUGH
Pentagoet owners Matt Powell, left, and George Trinovitch bought the Pentagoet Inn & Pub in Castine last September. They will receive a $40,000 grant through the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
After less than a year under new ownership, the Pentagoet Inn & Pub in Castine is receiving national recognition through a grant program administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and funded by payments giant American Express.
The Pentagoet, overlooking Penobscot Bay from at 26 Main St., was built in 1894 as a summer hotel and has continually welcomed guests since then. It is one of 25 historic small restaurants that will each receive a $40,000 grant through the Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program.
Castine is Maine’s oldest settlement, dating back to 1613. The Pentagoet was built at the height of the Victorian era in 1894. It is Castine's original and oldest summer hotel and the town's longest continually-operating restaurant. For the last 22 years, it has been stewarded by Julie Van de Graaf and Jack Burke, but with the passing of Burke in 2020, Robert "Matt" Powell and George Trinovitch bought the restaurant and inn in 2022.
They are working to fully restore the building.
The grant program aims to support the growth of small and independent restaurants by supporting improvements in physical space and critical operating costs, according to a news release.
This year is the third installment of the program.
As part of the program, Resy, the American Express-owned restaurant technology platform, is offering complimentary use of an efficiency software called ResyOS for one year to each grant recipient.
“This year’s restaurants embody the unique stories of how local businesses empower communities, sustain cultural traditions and extend family legacies,” said National Trust for Historic Preservation Chief Preservation Officer Katherine Malone-France.
The trust considered small restaurants of all kinds, from soda fountains and craft breweries to BBQ stops and specialty bakeries, and from all over the country, she added.
The 25 grantees represent historic and culturally significant restaurants that operate in historic buildings or neighborhoods and contribute to their neighborhood’s past and identity.
Other New England grantees were Freighthouse Market & Café in Lyndonville, Vt., Gather55 in Hartford, Conn., and Johnny's Victory Diner in Burrillville, R.I.
Since it began in 2021, the Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program has awarded $3 million to 75 historic restaurants to help them address critical needs amid ongoing economic challenges.
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