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A Maine restaurateur who recently purchased a $1.8 million coastal winery is accused of owing nearly $600,000 in unpaid taxes and business costs, according to multiple liens and lawsuits.
Blaze Restaurant Group owner Matthew Haskell has been sued twice in the past year, by a food supplier and fire restoration company, over his inability to pay for services. Both lawsuits are active and seek a combined $158,000.
Haskell also owes the IRS $380,687 in unpaid personal taxes from 2019 to 2023, according to a tax lien filed in Hancock County on June 26, 2025. He owes another $46,000 in state taxes, another lien shows.
Haskell did not dispute any of the allegations when contacted by the Bangor Daily News. He said the money he owes to various companies is “being worked out.”
Details of Haskell’s legal and financial problems emerge as he embarks on his most ambitious project yet — transforming the former Cellardoor Winery in Lincolnville into a lodging, brewing and high-end dining compound. The acquisition also intertwines Haskell’s restaurant empire with Maine media mogul Reade Brower, who financed the purchase.
Haskell cited a July 2023 fire at the Camden Blaze as the catalyst for the legal disputes. That location was the most profitable, Haskell said.
“That business meant everything to me,” Haskell said. “It crippled my company.”
Buying the Lincolnville winery is part of the company’s strategy to recover financially after the fire, Haskell said.
“We could file for reorganization, which means that a lot of people wouldn’t get paid, or we could take a slow, steady and consistent approach to meet our obligations,” he said.
Dennis Food Service sued Haskell in November, alleging roughly $100,000 of unpaid deliveries for Haskell and Blaze restaurants. That lawsuit is paused as Haskell is on a payment plan until November 2026. His wife, Evelina Haskell, is also named in the lawsuit.
Haskell is making those payments, Dennis Food Services attorney Shawn Doil said. The company is continuing to supply food for Haskell’s restaurants.
Around the same time, a company operated by Haskell was sued in Massachusetts after it allegedly failed to pay $58,000 to Prism Specialties of Northeast New England for restoring kitchen equipment damaged in the Camden fire. The company did not respond to a request for comment through its attorney.
A judge in that case ordered in November that Haskell and two of his Blaze companies cannot withdraw or transfer money from bank accounts until that sum is paid, according to court records. The restriction does not apply to staff wages and reasonable operations.
“This is a result of the collateral damage to the Camden lawsuit,” Haskell said. “Accounts are not restricted at all.”
Additionally, a judge ruled in May 2025 that Haskell owes $5,577 to R.A. Whitney Farms through his Dover Creek Cattle company, according to Piscataquis County court records. That judgment is still pending.
Haskell has also sued his former Camden landlord and insurance company over his lease being terminated after the fire. That lawsuit is still pending.
Haskell has paid back some of the federal and state liens — nearly $69,000 in total — over the last five years. He told the BDN he has repaid all of his state taxes, but the Hancock Registry of Deeds still shows one for $46,016 filed May 1, 2025, that has not been discharged.
There are payment plans in place with the IRS and Maine Revenue Service, Haskell said.
The IRS files a lien when taxes have not been paid. It alerts creditors to unpaid bills and the lien attaches to all assets as the government tries to recoup its money. A lien may limit a person’s ability to get a line of credit, according to the IRS.
Brower, who owns the Midcoast Villager, The Ellsworth American and the Mount Desert Islander and is financing the Haskells’ purchase of the Lincolnville winery, previously told the BDN he is helping Haskell and his wife find a bank to “provide permanent financing.”
Blaze continues to operate restaurants in Bangor, Bar Harbor and Blue Hill. The Biddeford location closed in January 2025 and Bangor’s Urban Pizza closed in April, both because of a shortage of liquor licenses, Haskell said.
“The fire was a major setback in addition to the many challenges that the food service industry faces on even its best days,” Haskell said. “We remain committed to the communities and customers we serve, and we are on a path that we believe will allow us to resolve these outstanding issues.”