When Chris and Martha Nickerson took over the nearly 30-year-old Whale’s Tooth Pub in Lincolnville in January 2021, it was a rocky time for the restaurant industry.
The COVID pandemic had forced many restaurants to close their doors for months, and then reopen with a variety of new public health restrictions. As the economy rebounded, the industry had trouble finding or retaining workers, and then had to adjust to the rising costs brought on by inflation.
With a mix of experience and determination, the Nickersons managed to steer the business through those obstacles and, more recently, a series of devastating storms that damaged the waterfront property.
But now, having kept the business successful, the Nickersons are closing and selling the Whale’s Tooth Pub, with their last day of operation on Oct. 14. Their decision is not related to those recent obstacles, they said, but rather, their interest in spending more time with their children and parents who live outside Maine.
more closures
In recent months, a wave of other food businesses across Maine have also announced they’re closing or being put up for sale.
While some of those closures are hitting newer places that couldn’t get traction in recent years, or were driven by larger headwinds in the industry, others are happening at more established spots such as the Whale’s Tooth Pub that have stayed busy despite the recent tumult.
Two other examples of this have also come in Waldo County: the Chocolate Drop Candy Shop in downtown Belfast — a 15-year-old candy store and soda fountain — shut its doors at the end of September, and a 26-year-old ice cream stand on Route 3 in Belmont is currently for sale.
While the owners of all three small businesses said they had unique reasons for closing, they shared one common denominator: their continued success in recent years.
The BDN spoke with each owner about how they kept their businesses going as long as they did, what some of the biggest challenges have been, and why they’ve chosen now to step down.
Julie Heeter, the owner and operator of the Route 3 ice cream stand — called Ice Cream Creations: Home of the Super Scoop — has avoided some of the larger staffing challenges affecting the food industry by keeping her operation small. She has usually staffed it by herself, but gotten help from her friends and goddaughter during especially busy times.
Heeter kept her business going largely due to her perseverance and love of the craft, taking pride in connecting with her community and exercising creativity in her frozen creations, she said. But that model has proved unsustainable in recent years, given physical challenges that made it hard for her to keep up with the labor
“I’m getting old, and my body’s wearing out on me. That’s just the way it is,” Heeter said. “The more I push, the more my body is going, ‘Oh, boy.’ I really don’t want to end up in a wheelchair before I have to be.”
Finding staff in recent years has been more of a challenge for the Chocolate Drop Candy Shop, according to one of its co-owners, David Brassbridge. It was hard for the small business to offer the higher pay that workers were seeking, especially as the pandemic waned and inflation drove up costs by between 10 and 20 percent.
“It was post-pandemic that killed us, and it was mostly lack of labor,” Brassbridge said.
To make it work, Brassbridge said, the business reduced its hours and raised both prices and wages. It was able to rely on ongoing support from community members who continued to come out and buy things there.
Several factors have contributed to Brassbridge and his business partner, David Crabiel, closing the store now, including its manager — Brassbridge’s son — moving on to other job opportunities, and the fact that Brassbridge also has three other businesses that he runs. He didn’t rule out partnering with Crabiel again on a future venture.
“It was a fun run,” Brassbridge said. “It’s sad to see it go. I don’t think anything’s over for us indefinitely. It just means we’re going to take a pause and try to figure out what we want to do, try to find something that’s not so dependent on some of the key issues we were having.”
At the Whale’s Tooth Pub, the owners have also contended with labor shortages and inflation since they bought the business.
“It’s been a lot harder to be in business now than five years ago,” Chris Nickerson said. “It seems like a lot of things are stacked against small business owners.”
On top of those more general industry challenges, it also was one of many restaurants damaged by three storms that rocked Maine’s coast last winter, which forced it to close for repairs for 35 business days.
In spite of those barriers, though, Nickerson said 2024 has been the Whale’s Tooth Pub’s best year for revenue, profit, days open, talent retention and other measures.
It responded to the storm damage with upgrades that included a retaining wall, a new cement foundation and a large water transfer pump in its basement.
Soon after the Nickersons bought the restaurant, they also made another investment that has been especially helpful for retaining staff: they bought a former inn in Belfast and offered worker housing there.
more closures
“There are not enough workers in Maine, and there is not enough affordable housing in Maine to employ a workforce, so what I chose to do is buy housing [and rent to my staff], and that really helped our situation,” Chris Nickerson said. “Without a strong, engaged, motivated, recognized team, your business is going to falter.”
Although the Nickersons have put the Lincolnville restaurant up for sale — the waterfront property is now listed for $1.5 million — they’re optimistic they’ll find new owners to keep it going.
“It’s a wonderful gem in the beautiful midcoast of Maine. It has a very loyal and gracious customer base, locals and seasonal,” Nickerson said. “I think the property will live on for generations to come.”
