On a typical Saturday night this summer, the place to go on Chebeague Island is The Slow Bell Cafe. This is the restaurant’s first season, and islanders have eagerly anticipated its opening. It’s become a real island enterprise.
May Hall is the head chef and manager of The Slow Bell. Breakfast and lunch are served on Wednesdays and Thursdays, dinner on Fridays and Saturdays and brunch on Sunday. Dinner specials are often influenced by what is fresh and ripe at the Lone Goat Farm, located not far from the restaurant.
The chief caretakers of that garden this season are Erin Whetham and Caroline Summa. The farm draws its name from Lester the single goat that still lives on the property. (A fence has been built to separate Lester from the lettuce and tomatoes.)
Whetham came up with the idea for the garden on Chebeague, and spent the winter seeking grants for the project, eventually securing one from the Island Institute. (The Island Institute publishes the Working Waterfront.) She says that the Chebeague Island Community Association (CICA) has also provided some funding. Summa became the first intern on the farm as a part of the summer fellows program funded and run by the Island Institute.
“I have always loved gardening and had an interest in agriculture,” says Summa, a 2011 graduate of Cheverus Academy who grew up on the island. “It was good that it was a paid internship too.”
This fall, Summa will be traveling to Portugal, where she will be a part of the World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program. As a part of this program, she will live with a local family and in turn work on their farm and experience life in that country. When she comes back in the spring, she plans to continue with the program on farms in the U.S.
Whetham spent some of her childhood on Chebeague attending the Chebeague Island School, has moved back and last year started her own island landscaping business.
The Lone Goat Farm is located on property owned by Jonathan KomLosy, who also owns the Slow Bell Cafe. KomLosy agreed to let Whetham create her garden to help supply his restaurant with fresh produce. Whetham and Summa also sell produce to the Chebeague Island Inn and at weekly markets at the Slow Bell.
One of the goals of the farm also has been to sell shares of food to families on Chebeague. Under that plan, each week whatever food is fresh from the farm would be delivered to homes, according to Whetham. This is known as a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share. So far this season there has been only one family participating, but the hope is that the system will grow.
Whetham says that many volunteers help out in the garden. “The community has been really supportive. The hope is to do a real CSA and have people share [produce from the farm] at the start of the season, and we could deliver more shares of produce to families.”
For Hall, the restaurant-garden arrangement works out well. “I am happy to get all the fresh veggies from the farm,” she says. According to Hall, some of the most popular dishes at The Slow Bell are salads and wraps, as well as the Spanakopita, which is a special on Saturday nights and always sells out. All of these dishes are made with fresh greens from the Lone Goat Farm. Fish and eggs served at the cafe also come from the island. “We try to keep local as much as possible,” says Hall.
A popular feature of the restaurant is music played on Friday and Saturday nights by local musicians and bands.
The Slow Bell Cafe attracts both islanders and summer visitors. Isabel Johnston and Mackenzie Leighton of Cape Elizabeth walked out of the Cafe one recent sunny morning after having eaten omelets made with fresh eggs. They offered a good review: “It was really homey and nice, and it tasted fresh,” said Leighton of the Cafe and her meal. Johnston had been at the Slow Bell the previous Saturday night where she saw the Bluegrass band Jerks of Grass perform. “It was really good,” Johnston said of the band and the food.
Hall agrees that the cafe seems to be popular with everyone on the island. Talking about the first season, Hall says, “It has been great. The islanders seem to love having the Slow Bell, and the summer people like it too. It is working really well.”
Chloe Dyer is a resident of Chebeague and a participant in The Working Waterfront’s Student Journalism Program.