In a press release on Wednesday, January 8th, the Bar Harbor Catering Company announced that they had leased Able's Lobster Pound

Chef Mandy Fountaine, a constant in the Down East food industry for the last 20 years, is embarking on a new waterfront restaurant endeavor on Mount Desert Island (MDI), Abel's Lobster.

Fountaine is an 8th Generation Mainer who has worked in the food industry her entire adult life. In addition to Abel's, Fountaine also owns and operates Bar Harbor Catering Company, which offers full-service event catering and bar service and is based out of a separate location on Route 3 in Bar Harbor.

"Abel's is a well-known authentic Maine dining establishment on MDI and we're not planning to change that," said Fountaine. "We're going for a fun, informal type of experience."

The lobster pound charm of Abel's will remain and the menu will showcase traditional offerings mixed with some more modern options that Bar Harbor Catering Company has become well-known for. Fountaine hopes to cater to the neighborhood as well as the hundreds of thousands of seasonal visitors with coastal Maine cooking that plays all the hits. There will be a robust in-house seafood program that features seasonally-driven classics that will evoke that "vacation in Maine" nostalgic feeling.

Bar Harbor Catering Company Executive Chef Matthew Leddy is helping Fountaine create a menu that will honor Abel's history. Leddy was named one of the "Five U.S. Sous Chefs To Watch" by Forbes, and while working at Farmstead in Providence, Rhode Island,  the restaurant was a finalist for James Beard Best Chef Northeast Award (Matt Jennings) in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. During Leddy's time at Townsman in Boston, the restaurant was named Food & Wine's Restaurants of the Year in 2016, Esquire's list of Best New Restaurants in America 2015, and USA Today's Readers' Choice Award 2015 for Best New Restaurant.

"We hope to synthesize the familiar and the unexpected - an interpretation of modern Maine that's right for its time," said Fountaine. "Our focus is on Maine flavors, ingredients, and atmosphere - no matter how large your party is, we want your dining experience to conjure up the same familiarity and togetherness that Maine families have been doing in their backyards for generations."

For now, the restaurant will be open Tuesday to Sunday, 12-9 pm, from late June through September, and is available to rent for private functions.

 

correction - Earlier we had reported that they had purchased Abel’s. We regret the error

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