LITTLETON — With a look and feel that is a straight out of truckstop Americana, the Littleton Pit Stop is now offering diner-style meals, with a unique atmosphere aimed at giving customers the most bang for their buck.
Gordon and Crystal Hagerman first opened the Littleton Pit Stop as a convenience store and gas station back in December, 2014. From the onset, Gordon said his plans were to put a diner into the building, to give local residents a place to get a quick bite to eat or for families to come for their weekly dining.
The restaurant portion of the business had a soft opening Nov. 28 and celebrated a grand opening in December.
Gordon had worked as a bus mechanic at RSU 50 and before that, he and his family owned Hagerman Brothers, which was located where Freightliner of Maine is now. His wife, Crystal, worked at the Maine Revenue Service.
Originally, Gordon was going to run the store and repair shop, while his wife continued her job. But when the Maine Revenue Service closed its Houlton location, plans changed and Crystal took on a much larger role at the store. That move freed Gordon up to spend more time in the automotive portion of the business.
The Littleton Pit Stop offers gas and diesel, as well as a variety of product lines for snowmobile and penetrating oils. The Hagermans have stocked some grocery items, but mostly the store has snacks and soda.
The restaurant portion of the building once served as a garage bay for washing vehicles. Later, it became an Arctic Cat snowmobile dealership.
“It was just a space that was collecting junk, so I thought it would be nice to renovate it and turn it into a diner,” Gordon said. “From the beginning, I wanted to have this space for a diner.”
The restaurant features an “open kitchen” concept where people can see their meals being prepared. By going this route, Gordon said, they can go with a smaller staff with the cook also serving the meal. If the diner takes off, he said they could expand to add waitress staff.
Tanika Toby and Tammy Silliboy are the two primary cooks/servers. Fred Cone also helps out in the diner and on Saturdays, Gordon gets to step behind the grill.
“We offer a full breakfast menu, and people can order breakfast throughout the day,” Crystal said. “We also have all the regular diner staples like burger baskets, hot dogs, chicken fingers and seafood. We also have meatball subs, steak and cheese subs, wings, cold sandwiches and pizza.”
Regular dinner specials will also be offered. The steak and cheese and chicken tender baskets are the two biggest sellers for the diner, while pizza is the top choice for takeout.
Gordon added he felt the prices were very competitive so that families could come and enjoy a meal without breaking the bank.
“The location really has been perfect,” Gordon said. “People have really seemed to like the food and the community has been real supportive.”
This summer, the Hagermans plan to add a takeout window with an ice cream dairy bar. Additional tweaks to the interior are also in the works as Gordon said he plans to create a type of 3-dimensional mural featuring an automobile going into the wall.
The garage is open Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday by appointment. The Littleton Pit Stop is also a state certified motor vehicle inspection station.
The Littleton Pit Stop store is open Monday through Saturday 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The fuel dispensers are full service and will accept not only debit or credit, but cash as well. The featured gasoline is Sunoco brand, which if the official gas for NASCAR, thus the name Pit Stop.
The Littleton Pit Stop can be reached by calling 538-4358 or by e-mail gordon@littletonpitstop.me or by visiting their Facebook page.
