Talent, taste, and view… oh my!
NEW LIMERICK, Maine — After 40 years in the restaurant industry, Bill Roderick and Nancy Levin were getting tired of being in the business full time.
So when the Houlton Community Golf Course came to them with a proposal to run their new seasonal establishment, the Lakeside Restaurant, Roderick and Levin jumped at the opportunity.
“It really fit in with what we wanted to do with this time in our life,” Levin said recently about the restaurant that opened on May 8. “And the opening was wonderful. We had a full seating. The business so far has been great.”
The restaurant, which seats 60, is located in a newly renovated space on the scenic lakeside golf course, which was designed and developed in the early 1900’s, according to its website.
Diners are seated inside a, bright, airy space that overlooks Nickerson Lake in New Limerick. The goal, according to Levin, is to offer “elegant and beautiful food” that everyone can enjoy. The restaurant is open to the public.
“It is international cuisine,” said Levin. “We change it every month. It is nice just to tweak it a bit. We’ll be offering favorites like seafood and prime rib. We have pretty much been able to fill every seating. People can dock their boats on the lake and walk right up and have lunch or supper.”
Both have a long history in the restaurant and hospitality business. Roderick attended Johnson and Wales University in Rhode Island and honed his skills in the kitchens of the Harborside Inn on Martha’s Vineyard and the Oceancliff Resort in Newport, Rhode Island.
Levin owned the Friends Bar in Newport, Rhode Island, and both owned and operated the Horn of Plenty in Island Falls and The Horn in Houlton.
Michael Fleming, vice president of the board of directors of the Houlton Community Golf Course, said the board has always wanted a restaurant at the golf course. Prior to the Lakeside Restaurant, there was only a snack bar that mainly served fried food, he said.
“We chose Bill and Nancy because they are known to this area, and they come with very high marks,” he said. “They are just the right people for this.”
Fleming said that the golf course renovated the restaurant space by painting, putting in new light fixtures and fans, putting in heat pumps and doing some other cosmetic work. He said they may possibly put in new windows in the future.
Next year, Levin said, they plan to open earlier, possibly around Easter and remain open until Thanksgiving.
Normal restaurant hours are Wednesday through Saturday with lunch served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (last seating) and dinner from 4-8 p.m. (last seating). Sunday Brunch is served from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (last seating).
The menu for the Lakeside Restaurant, which is located at 6 Country Club Drive in New Limerick, is available on its website.
