YORK, Maine — The Rough is back.
Eighteen months after The Barn and the Lobster in the Rough went on the market — months that included a long summer of 2015 without York’s favorite summer watering hole — two York men have purchased the property and plan to open the Rough in the coming weeks.
Bagel Basket owner Sean Mitchell and Brian Sleeper, owner of Period Design Restoration in York, bought the 9.8-acre property for $875,000 from former owner Betty Weaver earlier this month. The property includes an indoor restaurant, The Barn, and the Rough, a seasonal outdoor bar and restaurant.
The two, along with family members and friends, have been working diligently to get the Rough open in time for the start of the summer season in May. They took time out this week to talk about their plans.
“It was not a good summer last summer,” said Sleeper, when the Rough was closed.
Generations of York residents past and present have long been customers of the Rough. Bocce and horseshoe leagues have been held there, and families brought children who have enjoyed the playground. “It was a major void.”
“This is a local place. Everyone wanted this to open. Without it, there was no place to go,” said Mitchell.
Proof of that is found in the fact that a posting on The Barn’s Facebook page April 21 about the sale generated 281 likes, 52 shares and dozens and dozens of comments.
As of right now, the partners are not planning to open The Barn. They are considering ideas including leasing it to a restaurateur or business, but at this point just want to get the Rough up and running.
The two “tossed around the idea” of buying the property last summer when the Rough remained shuttered, said Sleeper. “I said to Sean, ‘If you will run it, I will help with the finances.’”
At the time, it was on the market for $1 million and Realtor Jeff Jellison said there were few takers. However, in January Weaver and her partners lowered the price, which sparked a flurry of activity.
“We had a bunch of interested buyers then,” said Jellison.
“Jeff called us in January and said, ‘if you want this, you should move on it,’” said Sleeper. “So we made some moves to get it under contract, and it worked out.”
Mitchell said when he got that call from Jellison, he turned to his wife and asked her what she thought. “She said, ‘Oh sure. Why not? Everyone misses it.’ That’s all I needed to hear.”
Mitchell as general manager will be working full time at the Rough, and said he anticipates it won’t be a stretch for him.
“I have a great staff at the Bagel Basket. I’m not too worried about that,” he said.
The Rough will open by Memorial Day weekend, and Mitchell is working to have it opened as soon as mid-May. He credits Weaver and her partner Dale Hilbourne for helping him immeasurably these past few months. They gave him a calendar with all the important dates like when to start water, when to order inspections, “when to check this, when to check that. They were awesome. I don’t know that I could have opened this soon without their help.”
The bocce and horseshoe leagues will get underway again, and they hope to add a “corn hole” league, which they described as a sort of bean bag toss game.
A DJ will be there every Wednesday night, karaoke and trivia nights are scheduled, and bands will perform every Friday through Sunday throughout the summer. In addition to the typical Rough fare of fried seafood, lobster rolls and hamburgers, Mitchell is bringing in a smoker to offer pulled pork, ribs and chicken.
The two men said they look forward to welcoming old friends and new to The Rough this summer.
“It’s a great place. It’s a great investment. I hear all the time, ‘I just loved coming here.’ Now, people can enjoy it again,” said Mitchell.