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| Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie De La Garza Staff celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Rendezvous this year include, from left, front row: Elaine Trombley and Heather Lovely. Back row: Kol Langley, Ed McCullough, Theresa Belanger, Wayne Langley and Kalli Cote. |
By Natalie Bazinet
Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — Three things have kept the Rendezvous in business for the past 55 years — good prices, quality food, and friendly customer service.
Edward Corey and his wife, Amelia, started the family restaurant on the East Gate road back in 1959. Their son-in-law, Wayne Langley, started working behind the bar in 1974 and, in time, Langley became the owner.
Come this summer, the Rendezvous will enter its third generation of family ownership when Kol Langley, Wayne’s son, takes the helm at the restaurant.
Kol has been working at the restaurant for the past nine years, and most of that time was as manager; though he has a few new things in mind for the Rendezvous’ future, customers can be assured they can still dine on the same delicious recipes the kitchen’s been cooking up for over half a century.
“We make our own homemade meatballs, our homemade marinara sauce, our specially crafted homemade dough, our own sausage — we even blend our own cheese,” Kol said. “I’m going to keep everything the same as far as the recipes are concerned because it’s been like that for so long.”
Though the menu mainstays aren’t going anywhere, he does want to add specials to the daily menu.
Children and adults agree that the most popular item at the Rendezvous is their pizza, and the kitchen of the restaurant can turn out around 100 of them on a busy evening.
“The Rendezvous is a place where everybody knows everybody,” Wayne described, adding that the staff at the Rendezvous tends to be friendly acquaintances and downright friends with those who frequent the restaurant, which makes for an absolutely jovial atmosphere where table-to-table conversation isn’t uncommon. Families can listen to the jukebox while they wait for their food while the children tend to gravitate toward the video and pinball machines.
It’s also common to see more than a couple snow sleds parked right out front, as the Rendezvous is right off ITS 81.
The area has changed over the years and the Rendezvous has followed suit; when the resturant first opened just outside the East Gate of the then Loring Air Force Base, the restaurant was open from 10 a.m. until 1 a.m.
“It was the closest place for food and drink for the GIs, so it was very busy,” Wayne described, expressing his appreciation for the customer support that the Rendezvous has received over the decades.
“We draw customers from Grand Falls down to Perth Andover and almost into Edmundston, from the Caswell/Hamlin area to Caribou and Van Buren,” he said, adding that even without the air base the Rendezvous is still bringing in a full house on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
One of such busy days will take place this Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2, when the restaurant holds its annual Super Bowl Party — a fun and festive atmosphere, with fellow sports fans and maybe even a few free T-shirts handed out.
The Rendezvous currently has nine employees, all of which are ready to do their part to ensure that customers continue to enjoy the tasty food, quality service, and good company that they’ve come to enjoy over the years.
The Rendezvous is open Tuesday through Sunday starting at 11 a.m. (closed on Mondays); additional information can be obtained by calling 328-7211.
