The Chebeague Island Inn is for sale, and a Freeport entrepreneur who has been leasing it hopes to buy it, if he can find another investor.
Andy LeMaistre, who has leased the inn for the past two years, confirmed he’s in active negotiations with the inn’s owner, Martha Dumont, to buy the inn.
Dumont declined to comment about the negotiations, only saying that she and LeMaistre had a business relationship that ended at the end of October. Oates and Bredfeldt, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in inns, lists the Chebeague Island Inn for sale on the Web site, www.quantumhospitality.com; the asking price is $1.65 million.
The inn’s recent history has had its share of drama since Dumont bought it in 2003. Dumont did extensive renovations before re-opening it in 2004.
LeMaistre credits Dumont with restoring the inn to a style that harkened back to the inn’s glory days in the 1920’s, when it was one of many majestic inns that dotted the Maine coastline.
“She did a tremendous renovation, and I mean a tremendous infrastructure investment,” he said.
But the inn was abruptly shuttered halfway through the 2006 tourist season and did not reopen for all of 2007. LeMaistre leased the inn from Dumont, and re-opened it in June 2008.
LeMaistre grew up on the shores of Cumberland, and, as a child, frequently visited Chebeague Island with his mother.
“We used to sail in our little sailboat to Chebeague, and she would play a round of golf and then we’d sail back,” he said.
A real estate, farm and manufacturing entrepreneur, LeMaistre hated to see the inn closed. He initially attempted to buy it from Dumont, but the two sides could not agree on an asking price, he said. As a compromise, LeMaistre said, he asked to lease the inn for two years.
LeMaistre attempted to have a manager oversee the inn’s day-to-day operations, but the venture lost roughly $375,000 in 2008 and 2009. LeMaistre said his bottom line was hurt by a lack of reservations for large events at the inn, owing to the closure in 2006 and 2007. Large events often rely on the same venue each year or are booked a year or two in advance.
Complicating matters, the inn’s manager quit in 2008. Hoping to avoid similar managerial turnover for 2009, LeMaistre used a personnel consultant to find a replacement, but that manager hired by the consultant also quit halfway through the 2009 season. If LeMaistre succeeds in buying the inn, he plans on managing it himself and living on the premises.
Despite the difficulties, he sees cause for optimism. The inn experienced an increase in functions in 2009, he said. Also, he believes the unique combination of an island setting and proximity to an urban center would be a steady draw for New York and Boston businesses looking for event space. LeMaistre created an estimation of the potential business for the 2010 season, and he believes the inn should come close to breaking even next year. Profitability would come in several years, he said.
“It would take a steady hand on it,” he said. “I’m confident that it can be a profitable operation.”
LeMaistre has been looking for another investor to help him raise the $800,000 needed to qualify for a mortgage for the total purchase price. He would not divulge how much capital he has on hand for the purchase. To find a partner or partners, he’s asked around and even stopped in recently to the office of First District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree.
If LeMaistre were able to purchase the inn, that would be good news for Chebeague Island residents, said Carol White, a member of the island’s comprehensive planning committee. The inn is indispensable for islanders, she said.
The inn “is the only place for people to go out to dinner or have a festive occasion,” she said.
White believes Dumont’s business model for the inn didn’t strike a right balance between serving islanders and serving high-end clientele from away. She said Dumont didn’t favor booking weddings at the inn, a decision that not only hurt the profitability of the inn, but also affected a number of island businesses, as well. When wedding business dried up at the inn, many islanders lost money, from bed and breakfast owners to local musicians, she said.
In his two years leasing the inn, LeMaistre has made more of an effort to reach out to islanders, White said. Although the food is too expensive at the inn for White to eat there often, she appreciated his discount Monday menus. And LeMaistre held two dinners to raise scholarship money for college-enrolled summer employees of the inn, she said.
She hopes he will purchase the inn and continue to service both islanders and higher-paying clients from away.
“The challenge is for him to find the right balance,” she said.
Craig Idlebrook is a freelance writer who lives in Ellsworth.