Down-East Village Restaurant & Motel

Down-East Village Restaurant & Motel was a business that existed in Yarmouth, Maine, from 1950 to 2011. It was the second motel built in Maine, and eventually became the oldest in operation.[1][2]

Down-East Village Restaurant & Motel
Founded1950 (1950)
Founder
    • Herb Ferrell
    • Barb Ferrell
Defunct2011 (2011)
FateDemolished (2017)
SuccessorCanelli's Italian Restaurant
Headquarters
Yarmouth, Maine
,
U.S.
OwnerEd Ferrell
Sue Ferrell

History
An illustrated postcard of the premises, around 1960, from above US 1

E. V. Yeager owned a sporting goods business on nearby Route 88, and in 1949 moved it to U.S. Route 1 (US 1),[3] to open the following year as the Down-East Village Motel, with a Gulf gas station. They leased the restaurant to Simpson's Hamburger.[4]

In 1952, Yeager's children took over the restaurant, naming it the Down-Easter.[4] It later passed to Ed Ferrell, Yeager's grandson.[5]

Interstate 295 was built through Yarmouth in 1963, diverting traffic from downtown Yarmouth and, thus, damaging the restaurant's lunch business.[4]

The family built the business back, adding more motel rooms and a swimming pool.[4]

Sue Ferrell began working at the restaurant in 1972. The following year, after Ed Ferrell's father, Herb, had a stroke, Ferrell became the general manager of both the motel and restaurant at the age of 23.[4][6]

The Ferrells were the recipients of the town's annual Latchstring Award in 2011.[7]

Massachusetts natives Ken and Ellie Arra leased the space from the Ferrells for their Italian restaurant, Canelli's, which opened in 2011[8] but closed shortly thereafter, with its owners leaving town without informing their staff.

After subsequently lying vacant for several years, the town permitted the buildings to be demolished in 2016. Patriot Insurance Company moved into the new structure the following year.[1][9]

See also

References
  1. "Patriot Insurance finds a permanent home". MaineBiz. January 13, 2016.
  2. Pan Am's World, the USA: Everything You Need to Know about 50 Great States. Pan American World Airways. 1975. p. 34.
  3. Images of America: Yarmouth, Hall, Alan M., Arcadia (2002)
  4. Anderson, Amy (February 23, 2011). "Down-East Village Restaurant to close, but Yarmouth motel continues". Portland Press Herald.
  5. Images of America: Yarmouth, Hall, Alan M., Arcadia (2002)
  6. "Down-East Motel". Hotel Union.
  7. "Latchstring Award". Town of Yarmouth.
  8. "Canelli's, Yarmouth". Maine the Magazine. November 2011.
  9. "About Us". Patriot Insurance Company.

43.8032°N 70.1818°W / 43.8032; -70.1818

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