A downtown building that houses Bar Harbor restaurant Cherrystones, long anchored at the corner of Main and Mount Desert streets, and two other nearby buildings have been sold to local businessman Stephen Coston, owner of lodging and hospitality company Stay Bar Harbor.
“Nothing about the property is changing,” Coston said Tuesday. “The Cherrystones space is already leased out on a long-term basis and the tenant is going to open a new restaurant.”
Coston said the real estate transaction also included the parking lot behind the restaurant and an adjacent building where another eatery, Lunch, is located.
“I already owned the building where Salsa Verde is located,” Coston said of another adjacent Main Street restaurant. “All four of these properties were owned by one owner for a number of years before I bought them. The prior owner’s existing tenants are all returning, and in the case of Cherrystones and the one little vacant retail space, I have already leased those spaces to new tenants on a long-term basis.”
Erica Brooks of Swan Agency/Portside Real Estate Group, who represented the sale, said it was in the works for “almost three years now.”
Three different properties were involved in the sale, Brooks said. The first is 185 Main St., Cherrystones, which was listed for $3,575,000. Built in 1880, the property has a basement prep kitchen, upper-level living quarters for employees as well as a bar, two on-site parking spaces and a restaurant.
The second property is 3 Pineo Court, which had a list price of $575,000, and is a six-bedroom house with a one-bedroom apartment, which has been used for staff quarters.
The third is 8 Mount Desert St., where Lunch is located, which is a mixed-use commercial building opposite the Village Green. It also has a three-bedroom apartment. It was listed for $1 million.
Cherrystones first opened in 2012. Its owners Kristi and Jeremy Bond of FishMaine said it began “with a dream of reviving the corner and making it a spot to gather, eat, celebrate and have fun. We have renovated and renovated again, we have had babies here; some of them hosted happy hour with us.”
It’s a place, the Bonds said, where their kids have grown up.
“And so have we,” they wrote on a social media post. “Fourth of July, lightning strikes, power outages, trucks cleaning out the deck posts, so many tow trucks and car accidents, bike accidents, so many crosswalk accidents! Too many political and legal battles fighting for our industry and ourselves. Pandemics and masks and being closed down wondering if we would survive?!
“But we did! For 13 seasons we were so proud to bring you the best staff in Bar Harbor serving fresh seafood and creative food and drink. Thanks to all of our amazing customers over the years and to all of our top notch staff. We wouldn’t have gotten here without all of you.”
The Bonds own the FishMaine Restaurant Group, which includes Bar Harbor Beer Works and The Fish House Grill. Jeremy’s father, James, opened the Fish House Grill in the 1980s, according to the FishMaine website. Jeremy and Kristi both worked in restaurants and met when Kristi was a therapist and Jeremy was one of her patients.
Stay Bar Harbor’s other properties include the Inn On Mount Desert, The Primrose, Hearthside Inn, Sand Bar Cottage, Bass Cottage & Ullikana, Bar Harbor Manor, Little Fig Hotel, Cleftstone Inn, The Pathmaker Hotel, Anchorage Motel, Main Street Motel, and the Seasider Motel.
This story was originally published by The Bar Harbor Story. To receive regular coverage from the Bar Harbor Story, sign up for a free subscription here.