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OUR STORY

 

Five years ago, in 2008, we opened Lily Bistro in Rockland, Maine.  We sourced local ingredients, fresh from the land and sea, and created a French bistro experience unlike any other restaurant in Maine—if not all of New England.  We designed and built a beautiful spot on Main Street, and employed over 20 people.  We raised our son, Shawn, and were welcomed with open arms by the Rockland people who truly make living on the cost of Maine “the way life should be.”

 

Word about the food at Lily Bistro spread quickly.  With outstanding reviews from The Boston Globe, and several other news sources,

we were quickly considered one of the best restaurants in Maine.  We thought we had done the impossible: find a way to fulfill our

greatest passion while sustaining a working life in Maine.  For three years, we worked harder than ever before to care for our son, our

employees, and most of all, the people of New England who returned to dine with us, again and again.

 

We had no idea what was about to happen....

In the fall of 2011, the city managers closed the streets of Rockland, eliminating access to the numerous businesses which populate the

downtown area.  They tore up all of Main Street to fix the water system.  Our beloved Lily Bistro was right in the middle of it.

 

A city rehabilitation project that was supposed to take two weeks stretched into two months.  We watched our business slip through

our fingers.  Of course, this was a difficult time for a lot of people, and we (like many of you), tried everything to keep ourselves afloat.

But the economy had already taken its toll, and our local bank, itself gutted from the economy, could not help us.

 

We didn’t make it.

 

After a heart-wrenching decision, we closed the restaurant and were forced to move back to Boston.  We have weathered this

transition as well as we could.  Our contacts with our friends in Maine kept our spirits up.  We found other work, and we cared for

Shawn.  But we have learned that Maine is a special place, and a life without real community is a life barely lived.  While there are

numerous opportunities to cook for other people in a big city like Boston, it is not our food, our home.  It isn’t Maine.

 

We know Rockland inside and out, and we know the hardships facing so many of the people of Maine.  We know how our business

 

helps local farmers, fishermen, tourism, the environment, and most of all, our employees.  We know how the right kind of business

can help people hoping to find a meaningful way to make ends meet.

 

We also know that nothing happens without the support of the community. Which is why we could not be more excited to announce that—with a bit of your help—we can come home.

 


 

 

 

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