Governor’s debuts Bigrock Burger
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Governor’s Restaurant in Presque Isle has come up with a creative — and tasty — way to help raise money to keep Bigrock Mountain open this winter.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
SHERRY SULLIVAN, who co-owns Governor’s Restaurant with her husband, Tony, serves the first Bigrock Burger to Bill Getman, general manager of Bigrock Mountain, last Thursday. For every Bigrock Burger Governor’s sells, the restaurant will donate $1 to the ski operation, which needs to raise $150,000 by mid-September to be operational this winter. The Bigrock Burger, which sells for $8.99, is a double cheeseburger with Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms and bacon on one of Governor’s homemade hamburger rolls. The new burger officially debuted Monday.
Following the success of the Patriot Burger, Tony Sullivan, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Sherry, has introduced the Bigrock Burger.
“We’ve been offering a Patriot Burger for about a year-and-a-half as a way to help raise money for local disabled veterans in the area, and we decided to try to help Bigrock out by raising some money and awareness about the financial plight they’re in at the moment,” said Sullivan.
“We thought creating a Bigrock Burger would be an excellent way to do that,” he said, “and for every Bigrock Burger we sell, we’ll donate $1 to their cause. I’ve got kids on the ski team, and I think the mountain is a positive attribute to this area. We have to try to protect it and make sure we can sustain it.”
The non-profit Maine Winter Sports Center, which had owned the Bigrock Mountain community ski area since 2000 and had administered outside financial support from the Libra Foundation, announced Aug. 6 that it was ending its relationship with the mountain.
In order to be operational this winter, Bigrock will need to raise $150,000 by mid-September. To date, officials have raised over $100,000. Bigrock officials recently increased their overall fund-raising goal to $300,000 to ensure funding to support a turnaround plan that the mountain leadership believes will take three years.
The Bigrock Burger is a double cheeseburger with Swiss cheese, sautéed mushrooms and bacon on one of Governor’s homemade hamburger rolls.
“It’s a big burger … like a mountain,” Sullivan said, “and it can be modified in any way. We could have gone with three burgers, but I think that’s too much beef. I think the double cheeseburger is plenty adequate. It has good size to it, has a good profile and I think people will like it.”
The burger sells for $8.99, and for an extra $1.25, patrons can add fries and cole slaw.
Sullivan said Governor’s has committed to selling the burger for “at least a year.”
“Then we’ll reevaluate the program after that,” he said. “If it’s helpful and they want to continue to do it, I’d be glad to.”
Bill Getman, general manager of Bigrock Mountain, said the burger is a fun way for everyone to participate in the fund-raising efforts.
“It’s great that a local entity can come up and be so creative … now it’s getting fun,” he said. “Now you have a delicious way to help raise money for Bigrock.
“Not everybody’s a skier, and not everybody’s got money to make a financial donation,” said Getman, “so this is a way for virtually everyone to donate to the cause and have a nice meal, too. With this burger, people aren’t just digging in their pocket and giving money; they’re getting something in return. We hope that these guys sell more hamburgers than McDonald’s does. If they do, all our problems will be solved. I’m confident that our goal will be met and we will be open for business this winter.”
The new burger officially debuted Monday.
