HOULTON — Jim Brown, owner of Rideouts Lodge in Weston, was the guest speaker at the Houlton Rotary Club Aug. 5. Brown spoke of the history of the iconic lodge located on East Grand Lake.
“I was 2 years old when I was first taken to Rideouts – and the guest book in our family camp documented that trip as follows – ‘JJ’s first trip to Rideout’s today – July, 1962.’ Who would have ever thought that 50 years later; and many more trips in the interim that I would own such an iconic business in Aroostook County?”
Contributed photo/Michael Clark
GUEST SPEAKER — Jim Brown, middle, owner of Rideout’s Lodge in Weston, was the guest speaker at the Houlton Rotary Club Aug. 5. With Brown are Rotary President, Lori Weston, and Sen. Roger Sherman.
Houlton and Aroostook County in general always tugged at Brown, based on his spending so many memorable summers on the lake. He also attended Lambert School and later Houlton High School in his freshman and sophomore years. Houlton, and most importantly its people and the overall “feel” for the town has always been a source of comfort as well as the sense of “being home” – despite not living here as long as many of you have.
“Therefore, after much soul searching and many discussions with my wife, Kim – I decided to proceed with the purchase of Rideout’s and ultimately closed on the sale on May 2, 2012 (my birthday),” Brown said. “I had zero hospitality and/or restaurant business, so of course, that made me eminently, qualified to own a lodging facility and restaurant. What I did have, however is the desire to create a wonderful guest experience for each and every person who comes to Rideout’s – whether to stay in a cabin or come to the dining room for dinner. That desire, when coupled with a great staff and wonderful location made 2012 a terrific year for Rideout’s and for me as a person. We made mistakes; and fell on our faces more than once – but at least when we fell – we were falling forward.
“We learned, adjusted, tweaked and as a result are off to a great start to 2013 – ahead of 2012’s numbers for May, June and July already,” he continued. “We also made a very conscious decision to more broadly market the dining room to the public by increasing advertising as well as enhancing our menu in several areas. As a result, our restaurant numbers were up 70 percent from the prior year and we loved the experiences we had with all our dining guests.”
