Courtesy / Daigle Commercial Group
The award-winning Damariscotta River Grill is a popular hub on Main Street. The sellers, Richard Hirsch and Jean Kerrigan, were ready to step down to explore other life endeavors.
Updated: September 10, 2019
Downtown Damariscotta restaurant finds enthusiastic buyers
Courtesy / Tim Beal
Tim Beal and Tamara Dica have become owners of the Damariscotta River Grill, and see it as a successful enterprise with room for additional income streams.
After looking all over Maine for restaurant opportunities, the buyers of the Damariscotta River Grill are happy to step into a successful enterprise that has room for additional income streams.
Tim Beal and Tamara Dica bought the business and real estate, at 155 Main St. in Damariscotta, from Richard Hirsch and Jean Kerrigan for an undisclosed amount.
Dave Costello and Roger Daigle of Daigle Commercial Group Inc. and Dick Butler of Realty of Maine brokered the deal, which closed June 12.
“It’s a unique property,” said Costello, who represented the sellers. “It’s a little gem in the midcoast region and it’s really popular with locals and tourists.”
The 8,114-square-foot building is a wood-frame and brick construction on one-tenth acre. The property was listed for $1.729 million.
The well-established, award-winning restaurant and catering business offered a turnkey opportunity with strong financials in downtown Damariscotta, according to marketing information. Three dining rooms have seating for over 100 people; some tables have water views. There’s a bar on the second level, a fully equipped commercial kitchen, and a successful catering business with a separate prep kitchen. The property includes three leased retail spaces on the ground floor, providing additional revenue.
The business is located just off U.S. Route 1 in the downtown. The well-maintained historic building, built around 1900, is situated alongside the Damariscotta River. It’s surrounded by a mix of shops, community services, restaurants, the Lincoln Theatre, farmers markets and art galleries. Damariscotta is the gateway to the Pemaquid and the Damariscotta Lakes region, which is a center of oyster farming.
Local following
The sellers have been in the restaurant industry many years.
About 40 years ago, Kerrigan started out working in the banking industry, then took a restaurant job in Damariscottta.
“I fell in love with it,” she said.
Courtesy / Daigle Commercial Group
The buyers plan to keep the already-successful enterprise the way it’s been going, perhaps, with time, testing out new dishes.
Hirsch is a graduate of the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University and has been cooking for many years.
In 1988, the couple started the Anchor Restaurant in Round Pond.
In 2003, they had the opportunity to buy the Damariscotta property, performed renovations, and opened as the Damariscotta River Grill. They operated both restaurants simultaneously for 11 years.
The Damariscotta restaurant has been recognized by Coastal Living as a place to “slurp back oysters,” according to its website. Wine Spectator awarded the restaurant its 2008 Award of Excellence.
Hirsch and Kerrigan originally listed the business and building in 2017. At that time, they felt it was time to move on to other things in life.
“It seemed like a good time to sell,” said Hirsch. “The town’s economy is great.”
The property took nearly two years to sell.
“It’s the kind of space that’s unique,” he said. “We knew it would take some time.” They wanted a buyer who would continue the restaurant as it was, he added.
“We knew someone coming in would want to put their own stamp on it,” he said. “But we didn’t want it to get shut down. There’s a huge local following and we wanted that to continue for everyone. The new owners saw the benefit in continuing the operation as it is. We all feel like we’ve gotten lucky.”
The couple remained on through the summer to handle catering jobs they had already booked before the business sold.
“We’re just now getting to that end of that list,” Hirsh said.
Searching Maine
The buyers have also been in the restaurant business a long time.
Dica is originally from Romania, where she was in a McDonald’s management training program. She came to the U.S. in 2000 as part of a management exchange through the company.
Beal is from Chicago and vacationed with his family as a child in Boothbay Harbor.
“We’d do our laundry in Damariscotta and have steamers at the Backstreet Landing where, coincidentally Rick was a line cook,” he recalled of the seller. “I like the full-circle element.”
Beal and Dica went on to work at a Panera Bread franchise, which is where they met.
About six years ago, Beal became a minority partner in a restaurant group that ran a clam shack and bakery/café.
Courtesy / Daigle Commercial Group
The restaurant offers great views of the Damariscotta River.
“I did that very happily,” he said. “Then Tamara and I decided we needed to be independent.”
Eight months ago, they began looking for their own restaurant to buy. That took them all over Maine.
The price of the Damariscotta property seemed a little out of reach. But they loved the restaurant and felt a personal connection with Hirsch and Kerrigan.
“Rick invited us to have extended conversation with them,” said Beal. “I asked a bunch of questions about the business. The bank was enthusiastic about our vision. The River Grill is very successful in its own right and we weren’t looking to up-end anything. I think that sent a good message to the bank, in terms of this being an existing business that will keep going, and these are capable stewards. And that’s what Rick and Jean wanted.”
Minor upgrades will include replacement of some older equipment and refinishing the floors.
A large prep kitchen, in the basement, is ideal for prepping and catering, or could potentially be used as a second restaurant, he said. The two kitchens make it possible to easily host large parties, expanding revenue options, he added.
The couple will retain the menu as is, but will add to it over time, testing out new dishes as specials and seeing how their guests respond.
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Anonymous
September 10, 2019
I believe you mean they got their start at the Anchor Inn, the restaurant owned by the previous tenants of the River Grill. The Anchor is a new restaurant owned by a separate owner and management group that bears little to no resemblance outside of location.
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