TOWNSHIP 1 RANGE 8, Maine — Matthew Polstein had a choice: move his restaurant from Rice Farm Road in Millinocket to his proposed $65 million resort site at his Twin Pine Camps, or lose it, eventually.
He chose the former.
“We had to move our restaurant or it would have closed. It couldn’t have continued as a standalone,” Polstein said. “We are very excited about how it has turned out. We think it means we will have a stable … environment for the restaurant for many years to come.”
The new River Drivers Restaurant, which is several miles north of Millinocket off the road to Baxter State Park, has done good business since it opened at its new home in September, said Wendy Polstein, Polstein’s wife and partner in the restaurant.
It has several advantages over its former site, she said.
“We designed this place to be a restaurant. When we built the Rice Farm [site] we built it for other things and it became a restaurant,” Wendy Polstein said. “This is designed in mind for diners and outdoor dining whereas the other place became that by default.”
The restaurant relocation is part of ongoing plans to finish the resort. Called Ktaadn Resorts, the ecotourism site would consist of a community center and a residential and mixed-use subdivision totaling 35 residential lots and 12 mixed-use town houses on 1,450 acres of the township along Millinocket Lake.
Polstein has estimated the resort would create at least 100 full-time jobs, spur at least 60,000 visitor-days in the Katahdin region and draw 17,000 tourists to his resort for about 3½ days each.
Construction and opening of the hotel and other major facilities has been delayed for several years due to a lack of financing, but the Polsteins have managed to assemble many components of the resort themselves since Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission unanimously approved rezoning 244 acres for the resort in June 2006.
Besides the restaurant move, the Polsteins are expanding their resort’s cross-country skiing trails. Four miles of trails designed by Olympic biathlete John Morton have just been finished, Wendy Polstein said.
And the Polsteins have finished a $2.1 million “totally green” upgrade to their Twin Pines Camps by the lake. In this case, totally green means that cellulose made from recycled newsprint fills the walls, and heat recovery ventilation systems guarantee proper air quality within the buildings, which are propane-heated and have metal roofs.
And the buildings’ walls consist of huge blocks of polystyrene encased in oriented-strand board, making the cabins virtually airtight, like miniature submarines — hence the need for ventilation systems.
But the decor of the restaurant and cabins is folkish and upscale. Almost all of the restaurant’s interior wood is decades-old timbers recovered from Quakish Lake: literally the remains of the work of river drivers who moved logs down the Penobscot River.
The Polsteins are finding that Twin Pines customers enjoy having a restaurant in their midst. The eatery hasn’t stopped them from visiting other restaurants in Millinocket, and many Millinocket residents are regulars at the new restaurant.
“We are looking to expand our hours once there is snow on the ground. It has been good,” Matthew Polstein said last week.
Smart move leaving the Magic City behind.
They’re no more out of the Magic City then they were before, duh.
Just on the north side of town now.
DUH! They are outside town limits. Lower taxes,less bs.
True, but now anybody going to their place goes THROUGH Millinocket.
they should put a sign up at the Huber Road for all that Millinocket has done/said about Matt…..it’s the least he could do. Bypass the town totally.
If it wasn’t for Matt the town was gong to invest in the Avenger boat scam. They should thank him for that.
So,it doesn’t mean they have to stop.
They will and do.
You should check your statistics on that. That is untrue, factually speaking.
Don’t think so, you may want to check out the latest state traffic flows on Rt.11/157. factually speaking
Medway from I95 to East Millinocket sees twice as much traffic as Millinocket does during the summer season. Medway one is right, just look at the traffic counts.
Maybe to get gas and a candy bar. Been awhile, but last time I was through Medway it didn’t look like it had much to offer for tourism.
Need to go through Medway first.
The Gateway “Medway”
Sorry, but you can get there through Brownville , Greenville or Canada also.
So you think that after hours of driving, when you’re less than a half hour from your destination [whether it’s Matt’s pretend eco-resort or Baxter State Park, or Roxanne’s proposed national park], you’re going to stop in Medway or Millinocket?
I think normal people speed up a little in an effort to get to their destination when they’re that close.
Dont think so much. You will hurt yourself.
There about eight miles out of town if you ask me. Medwayone is right, you do need a to look at a map.
Magic City lol
Magic city -poof its disappearing!
Alot of people in the Magic City go and eat at his restaurant. Matt looked out for the people of Millinocket, employes Millinocket people and I believe wouldn’t turn his back on Millinocket.
Great atmosphere and wonderful food. Thank you Matt & Wendy. Best of luck to you with your new adventure.
The Polsteins have created a wonderful atmosphere at their resort and the food, like the previous restaurant, is still the best in the area. Kudos to them for forging ahead in their dream which will benefit the whole Katahdin region.
Sounds like a great move. The restaurant is very good; I’m sure it still is. The article could use more info about what is now going on at Rice Farm.
And just think: all of this taking place without any Roxie’s Private Playground, even!
No, but Matt supports the Park. Maybe you should listen to him. Just think what he could do with the Park in the region. Keep up the good work Matt & Wendy
My understanding is that the Polsteins are trying to sell the Rice Farm building and don’t have any future plans for it.
To bad its leased land.
Good for Wendy and yourself,thanks for bring people into the area.helping the economy.
Keep up the good work!
I wish them the best of luck but they’ve lost a fair number of patrons who came from Lincoln, Lakeville, and other towns in that area. The food and staff made it do-able as a one hour drive but they just added 30 minutes of drivetime. Three hours roundtrip is just two far to have to travel, to say nothing about gas prices. It’s too bad because we had started going more regularly since Chef Herman was reinvolved.
So make an overnite of it and enjoy the lake for a day!
I live on a lake.
Where is Lakeville????
East of Lincoln and Lee off of Rte.6, West Grand chain of lakes.
I remember my Dad taking us to a camp somewhere on West Grand Lake that you could only get to by boat. Eels got into our bait bucket over night and a daughter of the camp owner showed me how to catch frogs with a piece of red flannel. Wonderful country there. My old gazeteer (1989) shows the population of Lakeville at 32 !
We’ve grown like hell since 1989, I think we have around 104 actual residents now! ;) Lakeville is true to it’s name with the majority of land within the town’s boudaries under water. Lakes everywhere. We seem to gain residents, then they retire and move to Florida for 6+ months of the year, because financially it’s smart to have your residence there rather than Maine.
west grand artificially enhanced chain of lakes
Why don’t you get out your map?
Or “open new tab” to google and type it in…
“Matt supports the park”. Oh my God! He must have been warned 0ut of town. The true believers will organize a boycott.
Congratulations to Matt and Wendy! Tremendous food and beautiful surroundings.
look. people in Millinocket utilizing ecotourism and making a living at it.
don’t tell these people ecotourism doesn’t bring dollars in to the area.
way to go!
Is this the same Matthew Polstein that caused a lawsuit to Milly when on the council?
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=matt%20polstein
Yes, the very same king-pin in the Magic scam
Wonderful people, conversation and food! The best of everything Matt and Wendy!!
The area is beautiful. When is the resort going to be built?
Hope the ventilation system doesn’t break down, cause people may suffocate in their sleep
I hope his investors are private sector, because if the money came from the State of Maine, the numbers don’t add up.
Lol, so it’s possible the money came from Maine Housing Authority? After all, you said the numbers don’t add up
To arrive at 17,000 tourists that equals 47 individuals every single day of the year or 17,000 divided by 52 weekends that equals 326 individuals every single weekend +/- a couple of people for rounding, I hope it works out for him.
By the way Baxter State Park averages about 60,000 visitors annually
Actually it was a little less than 60,000
I guess it is all in how you look at it . Some people see the glass as half empty and some see it as half full. Then there are people that see thing the way that they could be and buckel down and work hard to make their dreams come true. I would say best of luck however it seems you are a couple that depend on determination rather than luck. Great Spot World Class!
then there are those that don’t like Matt and Wendy because they are ‘from away’ and are successful. There are a lot of people in Millinocket that could be successful if there weren’t sitting on their butts waiting for the mill to reopen….
The Polsteins’ have a beautiful place, they would do a whole lot better business if they got rid off that bartender in that picture!!! Just saying!!
Gotta love it. Matt admitting that the Rice Farm building isn’t set up well as a restaurant. Good luck selling it now! One thing about Polstein, he never knows when to shut up.
When I saw the headline, I thought now that it’s snowmobile season, time for another BDN puff piece on Polstein so Matt can rake in those snowmobilier dollars. A fine example of why it’s a puff piece is there’s no in-depth reporting on what everyone really wants to know. Why isn’t this $65 million resort all ready built? How close is Polstein to getting the financing he needs? Does it have to be built by a certain date or else it has to be repermitted by LURC? Come on Nick, ask your master the hard hitting questions!
Sounds like sour grapes
Sound like jealousy to me.
agreed
someone who lives in Millinocket, collecting unemployment and welfare jealous of someone successful? Can’t be….
Ever think he doesn’t want to borrow all the money at once? Keep up the good work Matt and Wendy EMPLOYING local people.
Rilly? Just how many “local people” does he employ?
Quite a few. I know someone who works for him and he said it’s the best boss he ever had.
Can someone explain how its totally green when there’s polystyrene and “propane-heated and have metal roofs” ?
I also didn’t understand in a previous article that the submerged logs were expensive as specialized wood but then inexpensive enough to be used by a mill. What’s involved in that equation?
TIA
The saw mill is the one removing them from Quakish lake.
Thanks but the mill I was referring was the one that where the wood was to be used as pulp and that it had enough fiber.
It’s Matt Polstein. It’s whatever he claims it to be. Like everything else. You gonna believe him or your lying brain?
They pull out two types of wood, logs from before the mills were here when the they were sent to Bangor and old 4 foot pulp from the mill days.
The original Rice Farm in and of itself was an icon in the years it was flourishing and running. Just move, it’s that simple?
I hope they can attract people to an even more remote area. Eventually. Is that how restaurants work? On the “eventual?” Years ago, I think the Rice Farm area was where Great Northern held some kind of lobstah bash every year.
Here’s an idea…seriously. A small landing strip. There is a restaurant at a rural airstrip (similar to Millinocket’s and Old Town’s) outside of a town in AZ, where people fly in from all over for their over the top Sunday brunch. A new way to get those folk over to the Loggers’ place and a boost to the local cabs?
This is a great establishment and I’m glad they’re doing well.
I do wish, however, theat we would lose the “Ecoresort” monicker for developments like this. Unless it is somehow served by light rail transit, a residential subdivision built miles from town simply cannot be called eco-anything.
For once we have a good story to read that is encouraging for everyone! :o)