Thanks for the heads up. It's easily been over five years since I was in there. As peakbagger described things got quite interesting there during the pandemic. Hopefully the new owners are making it better and again hope for the same at the new location in Gorham. The restaurant business is not easy and the folks who do well with it live the life 24/7. It's not only a profession but a life style.
Mr Pizza in Gorham is Closing (Now Reopened under new owners)
- Thread starter peakbagger
- Start date
Help Support vftt.org:
kltilton
Active member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2004
- Messages
- 397
- Reaction score
- 47
I ate at Sunday River Brewing Co. yesterday for the first time in a long time. Food and service was good and prices were in line with other similar establishments. Looking forward to seeing what they do in Gorham.
banjolady
Member
This is very sad. We come up usually for a week in July and we've been coming up for the last 17 years. Recently what we've been doing is staying at a motor court with cottages and cooking our own food since about 2020 when everything was closed. I really like the pizza in twin Mountain I forgot the name of the place but it's near the 302 rt3 intersection... But I remember first eating at Mr Pizza in 2006 when I went up with a whole group. When you've been hiking for 8 or 9 hours everything tastes good We were happy to be there. I wish the owners good luck in their retirement and hope that The new owners do something better than a sports bar
The business owners go where the money is and these days that is the stereotypical ATV/snowmobile crowd that tend to want mainstream brands of beer, bar food and big screens. When Mr Pizza built the elevated addition many years ago, the crowd was more of family and hiking crowd, so they went with the fixed booths which is less conducive for a sports bar. The original restaurant section on the right, is more of an open space that could easily support a sports bar layout. I remember the first year I was in Gorham during spring runoff eating lunch in the old dining room when the river was just about even with the back door and at least half the parking lot was under water. Hopefully they get the traffic to keep both dining rooms so there is a choice.
Gorham is starting to get PR from various media sources as an up and coming tourist town, not sure what is driving it as it really has not changed that much but my guess is ATV folks are doing lots of searches for accommodations, so the bots are noting the activity and generating content to drag in more eyeballs. The Conway/Jackson/Bartlett area (definitely not as ATV/snowmobile friendly) is going more upscale with a lot of the older affordable motels with big parking lots favored by ATV and snowmobile folks are being bought by investors to turn them into short term rentals or being torn down for chain hotels in the last few years, so that may be another driver to moving business north.
I was at a meeting last week where a local politician was observing that the long term surplus of affordable housing in Berlin and to lesser extent in Gorham has faded away. State agencies have money to spend on affordable housing but there really are not a lot of good candidate structures left. Berlin has been actively tearing down blighted buildings for more than 10 years (still plenty to go) and much of the older housing in the neighborhoods along Main street in Gorham have been renovated by a mix of new and second home buyers as they can ATV from their driveway and walk to the local schools. Many do not seem to be put off that more than few homes on the east of Main street are in active flood plain. Plenty of former businesses being converted to short term rentals.
Gorham is starting to get PR from various media sources as an up and coming tourist town, not sure what is driving it as it really has not changed that much but my guess is ATV folks are doing lots of searches for accommodations, so the bots are noting the activity and generating content to drag in more eyeballs. The Conway/Jackson/Bartlett area (definitely not as ATV/snowmobile friendly) is going more upscale with a lot of the older affordable motels with big parking lots favored by ATV and snowmobile folks are being bought by investors to turn them into short term rentals or being torn down for chain hotels in the last few years, so that may be another driver to moving business north.
I was at a meeting last week where a local politician was observing that the long term surplus of affordable housing in Berlin and to lesser extent in Gorham has faded away. State agencies have money to spend on affordable housing but there really are not a lot of good candidate structures left. Berlin has been actively tearing down blighted buildings for more than 10 years (still plenty to go) and much of the older housing in the neighborhoods along Main street in Gorham have been renovated by a mix of new and second home buyers as they can ATV from their driveway and walk to the local schools. Many do not seem to be put off that more than few homes on the east of Main street are in active flood plain. Plenty of former businesses being converted to short term rentals.
Looks like renovations are in progress by the former owners of Sunday River Brewing Company (target reopening of May 15).
They stood up for personal choice against the Governor of Maine a few years ago and ended up being forced to sell their business (and the administration apparently banned them from getting licenses in the state).
I was impressed with how they ran Sunday River Brewing Company, especially during trying times, and plan to visit Mr. Pizza once they reopen it.
They stood up for personal choice against the Governor of Maine a few years ago and ended up being forced to sell their business (and the administration apparently banned them from getting licenses in the state).
I was impressed with how they ran Sunday River Brewing Company, especially during trying times, and plan to visit Mr. Pizza once they reopen it.
Last edited:
They violated public health rules during COVID and got slapped down. Everything that happened to them was self-inflicted.
Before you slander the new Mr. Pizza owners, perhaps you can tell us when you were there and what "health rules" they violated?
Slander…give me a break. Maine restaurant owner tells Fox News he plans to defy government orders, open May 1
Where are the "health rules" that the dining establishment violated? I ate there in 2020 and witnessed a clean, safe operation.
I am glad that Mr. Pizza is coming back. Let's not slander the new owners by implying they were running an unsanitary operation.
Not buying into your twisting of words to fit your paradigm. Had enough of that during the pandemic.
If you still support shut downs and mandates, you're on an increasingly lonely island. Cheers to the small businesses who survived those awful times.
ChrisB
Well-known member
What poppycock! Mr Pizza is off my list of places to dine for sure.
"Poppycrack" LMAO....I think someone might be smoking that stuff before they post.
JoshandBaron
Well-known member
https://apps.web.maine.gov/online/hip_search/detail-145557.html
| Violations: |
|---|
| Establishment: 25270 - SUNDAY RIVER BREW PUB Inspection Date: 02/04/2020 Inspection Purpose: REGULAR Status: Passed: 3 Critical, 3 Non-critical violations |
| 2-102.11.(C).(2).(3).(17) - Person In Charge could not respond correctly to questions regarding areas of knowledge dealing with employee health. |
| 3-501.16.(A).(2) - PHF not maintained at 41 F or less. |
| 3-603.11.(A) - There is no consumer advisory. |
| 3-501.15 - Cooked foods improperly cooled. |
| 3-302.15.(A) - Fruits/vegetables not washed. |
| 6-202.14 - Toilet room not enclosed, with a self closing, tight fitting door. |
BTW, I really do not know if it is the controversial prior owner of SRB or the current owner of SRB that bought Mr Pizza so unless others have made that determination, folks may be going after an innocent businessman (or not). The above health report lines up with the prior controversial owner. Incidentally my experience off season mirrors others that it had turned into somewhat of a biker hang out during the prior ownership.
The current on line property card for the Mr Pizza lot is not up to date with the new owner and I expect it will be an LLC that may or may not be easy to track. The property card does list a recent foreclosure prior to the sale, so the actual selling price may not have been asking price after sitting for a year. It is not unusual for restaurant owners to buy additional locations to take advantage of the economies of scale. The Common Man group has been incredibly successful with that approach. So in fairness unless someone else has a solid confirmation of the new ownership lets not doom a new business for a reputation they may not deserve. So folks may want to hold off lighting those torches and dragging out the pitchforks yet.
I suppose if the sausage and pineapple pizza is a featured menu item, then the ownership may be confirmed
The current on line property card for the Mr Pizza lot is not up to date with the new owner and I expect it will be an LLC that may or may not be easy to track. The property card does list a recent foreclosure prior to the sale, so the actual selling price may not have been asking price after sitting for a year. It is not unusual for restaurant owners to buy additional locations to take advantage of the economies of scale. The Common Man group has been incredibly successful with that approach. So in fairness unless someone else has a solid confirmation of the new ownership lets not doom a new business for a reputation they may not deserve. So folks may want to hold off lighting those torches and dragging out the pitchforks yet.
I suppose if the sausage and pineapple pizza is a featured menu item, then the ownership may be confirmed
BTW, I really do not know if it is the controversial prior owner of SRB or the current owner of SRB that bought Mr Pizza so unless others have made that determination, folks may be going after an innocent businessman (or not). The above health report lines up with the prior controversial owner. Incidentally my experience off season mirrors others that it had turned into somewhat of a biker hang out during the prior ownership.
The current on line property card for the Mr Pizza lot is not up to date with the new owner and I expect it will be an LLC that may or may not be easy to track. The property card does list a recent foreclosure prior to the sale, so the actual selling price may not have been asking price after sitting for a year. It is not unusual for restaurant owners to buy additional locations to take advantage of the economies of scale. The Common Man group has been incredibly successful with that approach. So in fairness unless someone else has a solid confirmation of the new ownership lets not doom a new business for a reputation they may not deserve. So folks may want to hold off lighting those torches and dragging out the pitchforks yet.
I suppose if the sausage and pineapple pizza is a featured menu item, then the ownership may be confirmed
Totally agree. Although one of the previous owners of Sunday River Brewing was in violation.BTW, I really do not know if it is the controversial prior owner of SRB or the current owner of SRB that bought Mr Pizza so unless others have made that determination, folks may be going after an innocent businessman (or not). The above health report lines up with the prior controversial owner. Incidentally my experience off season mirrors others that it had turned into somewhat of a biker hang out during the prior ownership.
The current on line property card for the Mr Pizza lot is not up to date with the new owner and I expect it will be an LLC that may or may not be easy to track. The property card does list a recent foreclosure prior to the sale, so the actual selling price may not have been asking price after sitting for a year. It is not unusual for restaurant owners to buy additional locations to take advantage of the economies of scale. The Common Man group has been incredibly successful with that approach. So in fairness unless someone else has a solid confirmation of the new ownership lets not doom a new business for a reputation they may not deserve. So folks may want to hold off lighting those torches and dragging out the pitchforks yet.
I suppose if the sausage and pineapple pizza is a featured menu item, then the ownership may be confirmed
Looks like they had a few citations, but none significant enough to fail inspection. If you search the address you provided, they passed every inspection, including the one you pasted.
peakbagger, according to the Town of Gorham web site, it is indeed the former owner of Sunday River Brewing Company.
Rocket, the whole sordid story can be found online in several newspapers, the Bangor Daily, Lewiston Sun Journal and Portland Press Herald. Rick and Ron could have backed down at any point in their defiance, come into compliance, and still be running the Sunday River Brew Pub today. Their own choices took them under. This was all hashed out before a judge, so don't begin to claim there were no DHHS violations--The restaurant was required to get everyone out and lock the doors more than once before the permanent rescission of licensing. The rescission of licensing at the Brew Pub affected their licensing at the Country Store just up the SR Road. so that business was also sold quickly. In Maine, if you've lost a liquor license in a legal action, there's no use applying for a new one for several years. Their silent partner in all this malfeasance was none other than Mr. Big Stuff of Bryant Pond, Mr. Tucker Carlson. Part of his support put the Savage boys on Fox News ( from Carlson's private TV studio in Bryant Pond) calling out Governor Mills, and Rick put Gov. Mills' cell phone number up on screen in a retaliatory move.
It's not slander or defamation if it is true.
JoshandBaron
Well-known member
You asked.
And yet you and others dance around the "violations" for "compliance." It's almost as if the Mills administration was "enforcing" things that would be unconscionable in 2019 or 2022. But, let's memory hole the whole thing and blame it on a second-rate cable news channel.
I wish them well in New Hampshire. Gorham needs a viable restaurant in that location.
