Standing inside the nearly gutted former U.S. Customs and Border Protection station in Madawaska, Eli Cayer and Jason Dionne walked amid sawdust and wooden framing as they described the coming NorthStar Brewpub.
The business partners, who both grew up in Madawaska, bought the 1959 structure for $173,000 in December through a government auction and announced they would launch a craft brewery and pub.
The venture comes during ongoing revitalization in Madawaska that includes a multimillion-dollar midtown plaza renovation and a $200,000 redo of Bicentennial Park. The duo hopes to create a new business with a funding model that’s rare in Maine, but also preserve the historic building. And they plan to do it all in time for the coming Acadian Festival in August.
“Jason’s an incredible brewer and we’ve run businesses together, and this is kind of right up our alley,” Cayer said. “We figured based on what’s happening in town and what we could bring to it, this would be a really good fit.”
Cayer lives in Portland and Dionne lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick. They grew up together in Madawaska and both have worked for years in the brewing industry. Dionne ran Cayer’s popular Urban Farm Fermentory in Portland, which was open from 2010 to 2024.
Dionne actually started home brewing when he was in high school, and has worked in Ottawa, Portland and Edmundston, he said.
Neither had thought of bringing a brewpub to Madawaska, but then Cayer learned his uncle — Grand Isle artist Dan Cayer — was spearheading the creation of a 30-foot Acadian star made from the former international bridge. That ignited his hometown pride, he said.
When the former Customs building went up for auction, he called Dionne.
“The timing was amazing. It was like 5 or 6 in the morning and I was actually making beer at the brewery where I work now,” Dionne said. “I’m on the platform of the brew deck and talking to Eli about this building.”
They jumped into a bidding war that saw interest erupt in the former border station. They won, securing the property on Dec. 31.
Cayer estimated construction costs at $500,000, but rather than take out business loans, they plan to sell shares to community members, Cayer said. Neither he nor Dionne know of any other Maine brewpub built from the ground up that way.
It’s a type of crowdfunding that Maine made legal in 2014. The model lets businesses raise capital by selling small amounts of equity to investors.
The trend “can help a company raise capital while building a passionate community of customers,” according to trade magazine Bar & Restaurant News.
That’s what Cayer and Dionne hope to achieve in Madawaska. As the town rides a wave of development, they want NorthStar to belong to the community via public shares. They aim to sell 500 shares at $1,000 each, returning 50% of profits each year after expenses.
They got the idea from the former Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery in Austin, Texas, which funded its construction similarly, Cayer said. Black Star closed in 2025 but billed itself as the “world’s first community-owned, democratically managed brewpub.”
No other Maine brewpub has reported being entirely built with crowdfunding, although some establishments have used the model to expand. Norway Brewing Company raised $16,000 on Indiegogo to build an outdoor beer garden, and Cape Neddick Lobster Pound of York is raising funds to refurbish.
“This is a community investment for us and it feels right to open it up to the community members,” Cayer said. “We also wanted to keep it as simple as possible as this is a new concept. Jason and I would rather give those profits to investors instead of banks or credit unions.”
If successful, the pub would have no debt and be profitable from the start, he said. If community funding doesn’t cover the costs, they’ll consider loans.
They plan to meet community members in the first of several public sessions from 3 to 6 p.m. Friday in Madawaska, at a location to be determined.
On a recent Saturday, the two showed off ongoing work and talked about their vision for NorthStar, which is to preserve the historic exterior while creating something new inside.
Right-angled boards marked the bar’s location in the center of the sawdust-covered floor. The kitchen will take shape in a separate alcove. Doorways have been cut out along some of the walls.
Tables and booths to seat 50 to 60 people will populate the room, and outside, facing the St. John River, a deck will contain outdoor seating.
Cayer visualizes “clean and simple” indoor decor incorporating Madawaska history — vintage photos of the town, logging operations and so forth.
The brewing tanks will be installed on the south side, which faces the Twin Rivers paper mill, Dionne said. He intends to use some of his own recipes as well as create some just for the community, though he does not plan to bottle and sell statewide.
“Everything pretty much will be for this location,” he said. “We’ll have four [tanks] going all the time and hopefully we’ll have six or seven on tap. We can produce and then store.”
They hope to open their doors during the Acadian Festival in August. They’ve applied for all required state licensing, but realize there could be delays.
The partners will leave details to the chefs they plan to hire, but say the menu will offer simple food using local ingredients.
They hope NorthStar will become a sought-after space where locals gather.
“We want to have workshops and beer tastings and members’ nights,” Dionne said. “It’s meant to be more for the community. The idea is to create that community space.”