The man who made Bangor’s iconic Coffee Pot sandwich for nearly six decades died Sunday.
Francis X. “Skip” Rist, 87, died after a brief illness, his obituary said. Rist worked at The Coffee Pot on State Street for 59 years, “a job he thoroughly enjoyed and made many friends,” the obituary said.
The restaurant was opened by Rist’s father in 1921. Rist started working at The Coffee Pot when he was 13, he told the Bangor Daily News after he decided to retire at age 72. People lined up Dec. 31, 2009, in 19-degree weather when they learned the shop was closing that day.
He was given the city’s Paul Bunyan Citizenship Award in 2009, shortly before the restaurant closed, for the beneficial effect he had on the community.
Community members have posted memories of Rist and how he made the sandwich for years. His kindness showed through at the shop and the church he attended since childhood, the St. Paul the Apostle Parish and St. John’s Catholic Church, his obituary said.
Multiple restaurants in Bangor now serve the iconic sandwich. It’s made with ham, salami, cheese and toppings — white onion, green pepper, red pepper flakes, oil, tomato and pickles.
When a new Coffee Pot Sandwich Shop on Broadway sued the Legacy Sandwich Shop in 2012 alleging it infringed on the trademarked name of the sandwich, Rist said he didn’t support the claims and had nothing against Legacy. The lawsuit was later dropped.