On the far side of the small bridge at Lincolnville Beach, where Frohock Brook empties into Penobscot Bay, stands a beautiful old building, a monolith of brick that I have loved since childhood. At times an import house, tea room, antique shop, art gallery, and who knows what other uses lost to memory; it has been the Whale’s Tooth Pub since January 1994.

As someone drawn to fantasy novels all his life, the main room of The Whale’s Tooth has always brought to mind the tavern where the brave adventurers gather before engaging on the quest. Remember the Inn of the Prancing Pony, where Frodo and friends first met a mysterious man introducing himself as Strider, in Tolkien’s masterpiece? A massive open fireplace with logs crackling against the winter chill coming off the bay, hearty dishes, and pints of ale. Or wine. Or whatever.

On January 16, 1994 the state finally gave the go ahead for Rob and Dorothee Newcombe to open their restaurant. The old place on the beach had been empty for eight years when the Newcombes purchased it, and renovations were extensive.

Opening day brought a massive snowstorm, but they carried on, enlisting their builder as impromptu bartender, Dorothee throwing together fish and chips from the kitchen. Nothing less than a snowplow could pass the streets of Lincolnville that evening. The place was packed.

After running the restaurant year-round for more than a quarter century, Rob and Dorothee were ready to retire, which for them meant to pivot to the innkeepers of the Beach Cottage Inn next door.

Enter Chris and Martha Nickerson. Twenty-seven years after that January snowstorm that introduced the Whale’s Tooth to Lincolnville, they purchased the place. Not even a year into the pandemic, which devastated the restaurant industry.

Martha and Chris, in an act of unbelievable marital solidarity, took up residence in the upper floors of the restaurant and stepped into the role of owners.

The couple had long vacationed in Maine. Chris hails from Mystic, Connecticut, a historic shipbuilding village, also along Route 1, and which has a lot in common with Lincolnville Beach. Martha, who manages the front of the house while also serving as the pastry chef, got her culinary start in the kitchens of New York City. Chris, on the other hand, was in a different aspect of the business, working for a firm that specialized in restaurant design.

In those early days, the biggest challenge, shared by most eateries in the Midcoast, was finding and retaining talent. The pandemic shook up restaurants nationwide, but Lincolnville has the added challenge of not being situated in the most affordable part of Maine. So Martha and Chris purchased the Belfast Breeze Inn, which allows them to offer housing to perspective jobseekers, and to seek needed employees nationwide.

And then came the floods of the winter of 2024. Chatting with him Saturday afternoon Chris described the basement with four feet of water on three separate occasions; walk-in coolers destroyed, wine bottles floating in the surge.

Chris strikes me as a optimistic gentleman, and talked of the silver lining of the storms, which inspired the renovation of the main dining room, creating a wine bar, protecting the bottles from further potential storm surges. He added granite to the sea wall, and further levels of protection to the basement. If anyone can face off against the sea, Chris and Martha strike me as the type.

With the storm-related closure of the Lobster Pound kitchen, the Beach is down a restaurant. I encourage you to check out the ‘Tooth, especially if you haven’t been in awhile. A supper boycott led us down there earlier this week, for my first time this year, and the family and I were super impressed with what Head Chef Isaiah was dishing out. My daughter and I, only slightly peckish, were completely satisfied with our dishes of burrata and beet salads, while sneaking handcut fries off the plates of the two who had elected for the fried chicken sandwiches. And it is possible that several lemon curd cupcakes, in support of Finding Our Voices, found their way up through Sleepy Hollow with us.

The Beach Recovers

After an impromptu Saturday afternoon visit to the ‘Tooth, my wife and I moseyed our way along the Beach. Not that this is an unusual spot for us to spend time together. I think I will now refer to it as a family curse. At some point around 1990, my younger brother agreed to serve his town and earn a little cash by cleaning the Beach every summer morning. Pick up cigarette butts and wayward napkins, empty the trash barrels. A great gig for a young adolescent except for one part. The early mornings. Tired of trying to drag his tail out of bed, my parents took over the job.

For years, every summer morning my mom and dad would hit the Beach, my mom patrolling the shore and parking lot, my dad hauling out the trash bags, preserving what returnable cans and bottles he could.

With my dad gone, my mom carried on this duty, preserved every year in the town budget. And she continues; strong, stubborn octogenarian that she now is, the job providing fodder for many old contributions to This Week in Lincolnville. But now we switch off, with Tracee and I taking on the Beach cleaning every other day. I empty the trash barrels, she patrols the shore and parking lot.

The repairs to the seawall are quite lovely, if you haven’t seen them. The benches are back. The cannon… well I have a lead on that and I will report back in a future column. Lincolnville cannot remain defenseless should the British try to claim Castine for a third time.

Walking along the Beach sidewalks we stop to talk to Dorothee Newcombe, the aforementioned former proprietor of the Whale’s Tooth, tending to the planters and flower beds. A project officially overseen by the Lincolnville Improvement Association, but run by Lee Cronin in reality, locals adopt a section of flowering plants. 

We chatted with Dorothee, and were introduced to Dennis and Connie Linhart, also watering and weeding their section of the Beach flora. They, of course, instantly knew me as “Diane’s son.” Rick McLaughlin, getting a rare reprieve from his kitchen across the street, crossed Route 1 to check on the local duck population bobbing in the headwaters of Frohock Brook and to get an update on his employee, our daughter, who is recovering from the removal of her wisdom teeth.

Should you wish to donate to the efforts to beautify the Beach, reach out to the Lincolnville Improvement Association. Or stop by the Blueberry Wingding, which will be held the morning of August 10 at McLaughlin’s.

This little place, on the coast of Maine. Standing in the salt air on a warm summer afternoon, chatting with friends and neighbors. Wicked good.

OK, Lincolnville, that’s it for this week. I do want to shout out those people who are keeping my kids employed and out of the house. Be it the kitchen at McLaughlin’s, the winnower at Blueberry Hannah’s, or the backyard of a dear old friend, thanks for putting up with them and teaching them how to work. Thank you to those who keep an eye on them, and all the children in town, as they take their first steps out into the wider world. Reach out to me at ceobrien246@gmail.com.

CALENDAR

Monday, July 29

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Tuesday, July 30

Library open 3-6 p.m. 208 Main Street

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Lakes and Ponds Committee, 7 p.m., Town Office

Wednesday, July 31

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Library open 2-5 p.m. 

Planning Board, 7 p.m.

Thursday, August 1

Conservation Commission, 4 p.m., Town Office

Friday August 2

Lincolnville Historical Society Museum open, 1-4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Saturday, August 3

Library open 9-12, 208 Main Street

Sunday, August 4

United Christian Church, 9:30 a.m. Worship, 18 Searsmont Road

Bayshore Baptist Church, 9:30 a.m. Sunday School, 11:00 worship, 2648 Atlantic Highway