Awesome Eastport Video! (credit, work, pub)

[dramamama6685]

Originally Posted by elston

I keep remembering there is no yard for the doggies. That would be a draw back to a doggie day care business, wouldnt it?

Maybe we could put some artificial grass inside and hire a teenager to do poop scoop patrol.

[elston]

It would seem that a business would have to have year round appeal to make it, unless you were going to cater to tourists in the summer and perhaps have a business in Florida in the winter.

The building looks like it would make a wonderful little coffee shop with pastries for breakfast time and perhaps a bagel sandwich shoppe for lunch......I am envisioning a sandwich menu with avocado and cream cheese spreads, crab and lobster rolls, stacks of turkey and thinly sliced ham with swiss cheese, sprouts; should have at least one sardine sandwich offering to honor Eastport's past--I see thinly sliced red onions on that sandwich and see it on fresh crusty bread; i envision minimal cooking but really good chowder and soup of the day; good gourmet coffee-----maybe get a coffee roaster and roast and grind the house specialty.

There is a breakfast place in Ogunquit that has those old fashion enamel top kitchen tables.....the ones with parquette patterns etc.....the ones with a knife drawer.....at one time I think every kitchen in America had one......They make great tables for a shop like this.....no linens.....a quick wash and turn that table. Nostagia de jour!

But I don't know enough about Eastport to know if there would be business for a cafe and sandwich shop.

[mollysmiles]

yum elston.....

maybe develop your own coffee? "Sunrise" .......

I have one of those tables in my garage

I think a business like that would do well....coffee shop, bakery, sandwiches n soup....whoopie pies on the counter *not* wrapped in plastic wrap that makes them too gooey but in waxed paper.....some old Eastport photos that could be traded out on a regular basis with the ones from the Tides Institute....and newer photos of the area mixed in...local artists could hang some paintings, oh, you could use local pottery for your dishes! there's a man in East Machias that make beautifully turned wooden candlesticks....have a few Native American crafts in there to use as well....oh, but wait, is all that too cultured?

[dramamama6685]

I wouldn't want to infringe on the other restaurants and if this building would be for sale again/still when it's our turn to move, I would have enough money to retire on and wouldn't really need a year round business. Maybe we can do a little train and Christmas village display and make that open to the public for free for the winter season. (sorry for the run-on)

[McMar]

I love all of your ideas! How about some outside seating - rooftop deck maybe? Elston, you are making me soooo hungry. "Sunrise" coffee - that's the perfect name for local roast, Molly.

[elston]

Originally Posted by mollysmiles

yum elston.....

maybe develop your own coffee? "Sunrise" .......

I have one of those tables in my garage

I think a business like that would do well....coffee shop, bakery, sandwiches n soup....whoopie pies on the counter *not* wrapped in plastic wrap that makes them too gooey but in waxed paper.....some old Eastport photos that could be traded out on a regular basis with the ones from the Tides Institute....and newer photos of the area mixed in...local artists could hang some paintings, oh, you could use local pottery for your dishes! there's a man in East Machias that make beautifully turned wooden candlesticks....have a few Native American crafts in there to use as well....oh, but wait, is all that too cultured?

Molly, I thnk everyone back east has one of those tables in their barn or garage. they are indestructible, and even after sitting in the barn since 1950; a quick wipe with a sudsy cloth....and they are as bright as new. The only thing that could damage that surface was to drop something heavy and pock the enamel. Mine had wooden legs but I think some have that tubular stainless steel......To me they are real Americana and part of all of our collective experience. New England iron stone plates mix and match from yard sales and church basements would make good dishes and maybe mix and match old flat ware. You are right got to balance a non pretentious, down home feeling with the artsy cultural. Lots of green plants; A potted coffee tree in a large pot near the window!

[McMar]

Elston, you and I share a vision. Although I'd like to create the restaurant and prepare the food, I don't want to manage a restaurant. Since you mentioned the tables, at one time I began collecting 40's and 50's dinnerware and furniture because I wanted to open a mid-century store. Those collections would look fab in this Eastport building, but I think a theme store like that would need to be located in a bigger city.

[elston]

Originally Posted by McMar

I love all of your ideas! How about some outside seating - rooftop deck maybe? Elston, you are making me soooo hungry. "Sunrise" coffee - that's the perfect name for local roast, Molly.

"Sunrise" even has a connection to Campabello from the play "Sunrise At Campabello" that reference might be a bit oblique....but it makes me smile.
What a great name for the house blend at our breakfast cafe.

You might find a way to link with local church groups by employing their teens on a rotating basis to help serve Sunday morning brunch once a month; it could be a fund raiser for them and a way to attract their parents and friends into the shop as customers.

[McMar]

Originally Posted by elston

"You might find a way to link with local church groups by employing their teens on a rotating basis to help serve Sunday morning brunch once a month; it could be a fund raiser for them and a way to attract their parents and friends into the shop as customers.

Elston, this is an excellent idea for many different types of businesses - retail or restaurant. And also a great way to get to know the folks in one's community. That building seems large enough to welcome quite a few people.

[maine4.us]

Well let me run the pub in the basement!....I would Call it Danny Boy's Pub. Catering to the locals and the tourists. Darts, board games, and cozy booths and a big bar. A fire place and big leather chairs to read placed around the fireplace. A warm place for people to hang out on a cold, snowy evening. Heck you could even offer a take home service for those who have had too much fun. The kind of place that something for everyone, and of course some TV's to watch sports, but separate from the bar area. Bars are for craic, and to meet new people. Of course live music on the weekend nights, and nightly during the summer. The easternmost pub in the US. Next stop going east: Keating's Pub, Kilbaha, Ireland.