Islesboro Ferry workers and beach goers will soon get custom food delivery

Lincolnville’s The Beach Store opens with new owners, expanded menu

Sun, 05/24/2020 - 8:45am

    LINCOLNVILLE BEACH — New owners have taken over The Beach Store, a popular sandwich shop directly across from the beach. A family-run business, owners Owen, Shannon and Jonathan Weyers have added multiple grills and expanded a new menu that includes locally sourced Green Tree coffee, Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, burgers, hot dogs, subs, salads, pizza, ice cream, and even a summer favorite—fried dough.

    The Weyers bought the building in January, hoping to open the first of April, until the coronavirus shifted their plans. For now, until the middle of June, they are operating as a take-out service. When they open for good, they will also be licensed to sell beer and wine. They will also be adhering to safety guidelines with limited customers within the store.

    The building itself has a utilitarian history. According to Owen who researched it, the building was once an auto showroom in the 1920s, before it turned into a Grey Line bus terminal. However, he remembers it fondly as a kid who’d spend every summer in Maine.

    “I was born in Camden and my family would always go down to the beach,” he said.  “It was always known that if you liked seafood, you went to McLaughlin’s, but if you didn’t like seafood, you came to The Beach Store.”

    Son Jonathan Weyers could be found back behind the line expertly tossing freshly made pizza dough. Having spent nearly 10 years on the west coast in the food industry, he moved to Maine several years ago and is now behind the line, making most everything from scratch.

    As with most eateries, they are unsure how business will look if tourists, who make up the majority of the location’s summer sales, will not be in abundance due to the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine for out-of-state travelers.

    However, there are a number of perks for locals. For one, they will be open at 7 a.m. every morning for ferry workers who want grab-and-go freshly made breakfast and lunch sandwiches, drinks, and chips before they hop on the ferry.

    “We have a number of ideas to adapt to the new reality of the summer,” Owen said. “One, is that we’ll hire someone to go down to the beach and take individual orders from people and bring the food to them. That, and we’d also like to let people who are waiting in line to get on the ferry to call us with orders and we’ll bring it right to them before the ferry leaves.”

    More items will soon be added to the menu, including in-house roasted chickens and “Heat and Eat” take out options in the fall.

    The Beach Store is open seven days a week. See their menu for hours.  They can be reached at 207-789-5199 and on Facebook.


    Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com