Taking advantage of a major crossroads location, the employer’s job market and years of experience in the restaurant business, everything seems to be coming together for Standish resident Dan Roberts.

Roberts, 45, of Angelwood Road, has been working non-stop since October renovating the historic Thomson House at Standish Corner, where routes 25 and 35 intersect, into a full-service restaurant. Maine Street Grill will no doubt be the talk of Standish once it opens, since it will fill a gap in Standish’s current dining scene, by offering a full menu, stylish dining rooms, a lounge, wine bar and meeting space for larger parties.

The Lakes Region Weekly sat down with Roberts last week to learn more about his new venture, the restaurant’s friendly ghost, and if George Washington ever danced in Standish.

Q: Are you excited about opening a restaurant in one of the oldest and most important buildings in Standish?

A: It’s definitely got to be one of the oldest, with the history that I know. Pearson and Hobbs were two Army generals from the French and Indian War (who settled Standish). They created the four-way road, put a fort on it, and the first 30-acre parcel went to the reverend of the town, Rev. Thomson. And this is known as the Thomson House, so it’s definitely one of the oldest.

Looking at location, the rustic charm this place had to offer inside and out, you couldn’t create what this place already had. To bring this old place back to life is what’s truly exciting. To give it new colors and see the things on the walls, it’s immaculate. It’s amazing.

Q: How long have you been working on the building?

A: I left my job Oct. 1, and I’ve been in here every day since. I’ve been working on the project for probably closer to a year. For the last seven to eight years, I’ve been a food consultant and food broker, so I’ve gone into other people’s restaurants, showing them what to do, how to do it, representing several different manufacturers. So this was to escape the corporate world, to go back into operations, which I have an extensive background in.

It was hard making that decision though, leaving nights, weekends and holidays that I had off to go back into the restaurant field. But this building is five miles from my home, and all the hours I was putting in, I might as well put them into myself.

My wife’s support really took me to that level of feeling good about making that decision. And I’m truly excited about everything, bringing a restaurant to our town that we truly need, in this building that has so much character and charm.

Q: Tell us about the renovations.

A: The first thing to go was all the area rugs and wall-to-wall rugs, exposing all the old floorboards. There are some really wide, old boards here. We mudded and caulked and really got it back to being a sound building on the inside. It had a new roof a year ago, and now everything is repainted, whether it be the floor, wall, ceiling, trim. It’s really brought it back to life.

Colors in a restaurant, versus a home, you go more dramatic than monochromatic. The hot colors right now are orangey yellows. We also brought in new chairs and tables, giving it the new life of a restaurant, rather than seeing it with a combination of old chairs and tables. I felt that would really show the town we’re serious about what we’re doing.

Q: Did George Washington dance here? Is that true?

A: I hope it is. I’ve heard that story a couple of times. On the third floor in the old part of the building, Rev. Thomson’s son, William G. Thomson, created a tavern in this building. If you bounce on the floor, it has a suspended, or floating, dance floor.

Q: What is the floor made of?

A: I believe that it’s the old, pine timber that ships were made out of back in the day, known as “captain’s logs.” I know, I had to cut a couple of them in my renovations, and they are indeed hard. They’re amazing. But I believe they’re extended longer (without support) than your normal floorboards would be, probably more of them in a series, but they’re not pinned down, they’re actually suspended so the whole house does not shake, but the floor itself can have some give. And you can really feel it.

Q: So, it’s good for your knees when you’re dancing?

A: Yes, and if you have too many people dancing in one room, the whole house could shake.

Q: And there are only a few of these old “floating dance floors” in the world?

A: Someone told me it’s one of three left in the country that were built in those pre-1800 days. My belief is that that’s quite important for the history of this building. In that same space, there are pictures and writings on the wall that date to the early 1800s. Rev. Thomson’s eldest son’s signature is on the wall.

Q: Any ghosts?

A: There is certainly at least one. There’s been a steady influx of people telling me there was an Indian servant murdered up on that third floor. And there’s one area that’s always colder than the rest.

But she’s a very friendly ghost. I think she sees what we’re doing and feels the warmth. But there are definitely stories I could tell you about being here late at night, with the door locked doing work, and I hear the patter of feet upstairs and I have literally gone running upstairs to see if someone had come in. Many times, my tools have been misplaced, and I find them later or the next day.

Q: Why take the chance of opening a restaurant, which always have a tough success rate even in a good economy, in this current downturn?

A: My background and knowledge lead me to be the perfect contender to do this. Many people cannot believe that I’m doing it, because of the position I held in my past. They’re surprised that I left such a good job for this.

Why do it? For every reason. I’ll be spending as many hours as I was on the road with my corporate job, but my family is only five miles away. My son is going to the school across the street (George E. Jack Elementary) and will later be going to the junior high just down the road.

If you look at location, location, location, it’s at the intersection of two major roads, 25 and 35. It’s also at a corner with two main exits, one on one main road and one on the other. They say 25,000-30,000 people drive by here every day. The busiest restaurant from us is Bay Haven, 15-20 minutes up the road. There truly is no full-service restaurant in town. We do have a great pizza shop and a couple quick service restaurants with Subway and Domino’s, but what we’ve always been missing is that full-service restaurant that will give us everything we need, including a lounge as well.

Q: Tell us about the restaurant itself.

A: Unlike many restaurants having one main dining room or two, because this is an old house, there are four dining rooms on the first floor, which collectively will have 60 seats. Two more rooms upstairs will give us a total of 88 seats. I think the ambiance it creates is much nicer than a large dining room. We have more seats in the lounge as well.

Q: You’ll have a Man Cave and a Women’s Winery?

A: Yes, we didn’t have to make all the rooms dining. As Portland has wine bars, we decided to have a wine room. It’s a place women can gab, and men are invited, but there’s no TV, just music, good conversation, and they can easily get food as well.

As man gets his prized possessions shoved down into the basement over time, the Man Cave has emerged. That room will have two leather sofas, a big screen TV over the fireplace, and it’s just a bit of comfort. The Man Cave is actually attached to the 22-seat lounge. There are three TVs in the lounge, so from most of the seats in the lounge, you can see two to four TVs at the same time. It’s really a place to have nachos and wings with a friend or a significant other.

Q: What kind of food will you offer?

A: The sign boldly reads: Steaks, Seafood and Pasta. The most expensive item on the menu is actually a 24-ounce, bone-in Cowboy steak. Most steaks are 9-12 ounces, so this signature item probably won’t be what we sell the most of, but it’s something that will bring our claim to fame, a 24-ounce, bone-in Cowboy steak.

Q: What are the entre?e prices?

A: They’ll range from $9.99 to $24.99 for the Cowboy steak. But most will run in that $13-$15 range. I really want to make it affordable to all of us.

Q: Do you have any Standish connections?

A: My wife, Dawn, went to Standish schools. I grew up in Gray. But I have coached Little League for four or five years, coached soccer for five or six years. I’ve been on a couple of committees in town. I feel that I am definitely part of this town.

Q: When do you open?

A: When the stainless kitchen hood is in. That’s the biggest factor. It’s been a construction halt, because everything else is actually ready, but we have four or five contractors who need to come back in once the hood is in. Without that, I can’t operate.

Q: When do you expect the hood?

A: Dec. 14. As you can see, I’ve had a little bit of a run-around. Patience has helped, but the sad thing is, I’ve had every excuse. And yesterday, a hood showed up. But it’s the wrong hood. This is a $20,000, specially made hood we’re talking about. But we’re anticipating an early February opening.

Q: How many people will you hire?

A: Approximately 35 people. More than 200 people applied. It was incredible the amount of people who have restaurant knowledge. From that group, we were able to pick and choose – since it’s an employer’s market – some incredible people to be on our opening team.

Q: Why “Maine Street Grill?”

A: Out of hundreds and hundreds of names, we narrowed it down to “Bistro 25” and “Maine Street Grill.” Maine Street Grill won for several reasons. This is indeed Main Street. And the word Maine in the title may help some of the influx of tourists that come by. It may make it feel like we have seafood. So, for several reasons, it sounded like home. And there’s a Main Street everywhere.

Standish resident Dan Roberts, owner of the soon-to-open Maine Street Grill in Standish, is proud of his renovations to the Thomson House, one of the oldest buildings in town. The full-service restaurant, which will employ 35 people, is scheduled to open in February. (Staff photo by John Balentine)

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