BELFAST, Maine — Known among the city’s several watering holes as a place where younger revelers congregate to drink, listen to music, dance and have a good time, the former Lookout Pub is being transformed into a more family-friendly, food-based bar.
Like its owners, Tina DelSanto, 32, and Katherine Loblein, 31, the Lookout is growing up, the businesswomen said. It will be rechristened as the Front Street Pub after renovations are completed in the next few weeks. A grand reopening is scheduled for the weekend of May 19.
“Do you want to have a wild and crazy club, or something you love?” DelSanto asked, explaining that she loves to serve good food, before mischievously adding, “not that there’s anything wrong with wild and crazy.” And in fact, that duality will guide the new business, with the place becoming “a little more refined, with a great bar, great atmosphere, great cocktails, great food, but still dancing,” especially later at night and on weekends, she said.
DelSanto operates two other businesses in town with Anthony Jackovino, and both are restaurants — La Vida and Delvino’s Grill and Pasta House. She wants to incorporate her love of quality food at the Front Street Pub as well as reach out to families.
In addition to the name and concept change, the building is undergoing a transformation.
“It was stale and needing a face-lift,” Loblein said. She, too, has other business interests in town, running the gift and clothing store KatWalk.
A wider outdoor deck with built-in tables has been added, more booths are being installed inside and the large game room out back — where patrons can play pool, Foosball and air hockey — will be separated from the bar area by a wall. Booths are being installed in the game room where the kitchen was and new windows have been added that will give diners views of the busy Belfast Boatyard, sure to be a hit with tourists.
The pub’s location, on Front Street near the former railroad station and a stone’s throw from the harbor, is transforming from a seedy part of town to a lively, thriving district, thanks in part to the arrival of the Front Street Shipyard. The shipyard has been up and running since last summer, but it continues to grow and add buildings.
A long-planned harbor walkway may come to fruition this summer; it will, fortuitously for business, pass by the pub’s rear entrance.
The new menu features Maine-themed fare with names such as “Lazy Man’s Lobster” and “Crab Cake Plate” and “Chicken Dicken,” which includes Maine cheddar cheese, as well as more exotic food such as the Bourbon Street Tofu.
“We live in this amazing place so that’s what we’re going to promote and offer,” said Loblein.
But make no mistake — the transformed pub still will be a place to hoist a drink or two with friends. The bar will feature Maine-brewed beers on tap, including one from the Marshall Wharf brewery next door, Belfast Bay’s Lobster Ale, Portland’s Shipyard brews as well as Black Bear Brewery in Orono. Maine-made liquors also will be featured.
And a corner of the pub still will be staked out for DJs to spin music, with room for a little of that wild and crazy to kick up its heels.
Sounds great!!!
I’ve been there a couple years ago. At the time, it was a dark, dingy rat-hole of a sports-bar (fyi, that’s not a deal-breaker for me). The food was decent, and the prices affordable for us locals. I haven’t been back, only because the food was mostly deep-fried (fries, onion rings, etc.) I’ve been to Delvino’s…nice place for that kind of clientele (I’m not an upscale restaurant kinda guy), but I thought the food was pricey and lacked flavor. The lasagna I had there was the blandest I’ve ever had, anywhere…including the frozen section at Hannaford. Never been to LaVida…gotta check that out sometime.
I am eager to try it out when they finish the renovations…I hope it doesn’t stray to far into the higher-priced restaurants. It’s nice to have a small affordable place in town (like Rollie’s and Dockside.) Though the service at Rollie’s, if you aren’t buying beverages by the pint, leaves a lot to be desired. (That was never the case with their Searsport store, which was always great service, and an excellent food and atmosphere.)
I plan on opening a bar in town but instead of checking ID’s I will be checking IQ levels.
You’ll be in the hole in a heartbeat!
Wow, a dump increasing the way a dump should be run by the same owners. Wow!
Sounds like they wanna put Rollies out of business.
The food at Rollie’s is pretty good (save the onion rings and chips, both of which just drip grease…), and the atmosphere is decent. The table service is miserable (especially if you aren’t buying alcohol), and the place is dark, and worse, dingy. It needs a good hose-down and a new paint-job. Badly. If we go, we have to go for lunch. My wife simply refuses to go there after dark. Can’t say I blame her.
Yeah I agree, Rollies isn’t the cleanest. But the food is to die for. Yeah, I dont blame her for not wanting to go there after dark. Haha.
The spicy chicken wrap is delicious. Man, that place needs a scrub-down and paint job, though…I always feel like I need a shower when I leave.
It is possible to carry being a place “for locals” too far. You don’t want to walk into a place where you are either ignored, or, you are not the “right” local, and get the feeling that you’re in a bad western cliche. I say this, generally, not specific to this establishment.