A family restaurant that departed Bucksport’s Main Street last month after less than a year has opened its doors in downtown Blue Hill.
Stowaways Town Tavern has kept its menu and added a weekend breakfast at 40 Main St., formerly home to Sandy’s Blue Hill Cafe. After opening and closing three restaurants in Hancock County in the last several years, owner Rob DeGennaro said he’s in Blue Hill for the long term.
“People know us [here],” he said, noting his past restaurants in the area. “We just felt Blue Hill was … natural.”
The move marks a notable change for the dining scenes in Bucksport and Blue Hill, and also brings an eat-in breakfast option to its new area.
Stowaways’ extensive family-style menu offers large portions of dishes ranging from custom prepared fish to meatloaf to salads, with an accompanying bar menu including a range of frozen drinks inspired by DeGennaro’s past restaurants in Florida.
The original menu remains in Blue Hill with some additions, like barbecue ribs and steak options. A new weekend breakfast menu will have a new entree each week, like red velvet pancakes, blueberry stuffed French toast or crab benedict, served with a basket of muffins and popovers.
Stowaways first opened last October at the prominent corner building in Bucksport that previously housed MacLeod’s Restaurant for 45 years, until it closed in early 2025.
DeGennaro’s departure came amid a rent dispute with the building’s owner, George MacLeod, who owned the previous restaurant there. MacLeod previously told the River Observer newspaper that DeGennaro had missed deadlines to close on buying the building, then stopped paying rent and communicating with him.
DeGennaro said Thursday that the building needed more work than expected, which would drive up costs, and detailed complications around addressing it. He decided to focus on the Blue Hill location instead — where he was already planning to open a second Stowaways location. He is buying the new building, he said.
As for “rumors” about the reasons behind frequent moves — DeGennaro has closed restaurants in Castine, Stonington and Bucksport after short runs in recent years — he said building problems also arose in Stonington, where he was renting, and the closures were forced.
“Typically, when we open restaurants, we love them, we keep them,” he said. “So this one will be here for a long time.”
Sandy’s seats 90 people inside, more than the Bucksport location, with room for 20 outdoor patio seats.
The new location is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Friday this winter and 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends, and diners are encouraged to call ahead for seating. Gift certificates and coupons from Bucksport will be honored at the new location.
