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September 5, 2016 From the Editor

Maine needs more businesses — and more businesspeople

Summer's over and with it, the drumbeat of businesses closing their doors for the final time.

The roster of closures includes Waterman's Beach Lobster in South Thomaston, the restaurant and bar at the Thistle Inn in Boothbay Harbor, three Ruby Tuesday's locations, the Hero sandwich shop in Portland, Bugaboo Creek. You could include Howard Johnson's in there, though it had already lasted longer than anyone would have expected.

Restaurants are often the first casualties in a lackluster economy. As to why, there were as many reasons as there were closures. Ruby Tuesday's, like Howard Johnson's, may have run its course. The owner of the Thistle Inn said it was too much to run an inn and a restaurant, so he's looking for a third-party operator. Hero, from the owners of OTTO's Pizza, never got any traction.

Of the closures, Waterman's Beach Lobster may have been the one that surprised me the most.

I first heard about Waterman's before moving to Maine. A restaurant publicist in Philadelphia, a man whose enthusiasm seemed boundless, told me I had to go there. It is the best lobster shack in Maine, he told me. Unfortunately, we never made it there. We tried once, but it had already closed for the season.

I first heard about Waterman's plan to close via an email from a friend from Nashville who brings his family to Camden every August. Waterman's was “a no-frills, family operation that provided bona fide fresh lobster right from the dock. Several years ago they won a James Beard award for their fare,” my friend lamented. “I am sure there must be many such places as Waterman's Beach Lobster on the Maine [coast], but we have always been impressed by the woman who ran this one, and how good the food was, including the homemade pies.”

It's an all-too-common tale in Maine: A well-loved restaurant with a dedicated clientele. The owner wants to retire and there's no one to take over. Neither the family nor an outside buyer steps in, and the place closes.

Here's the larger point I'm making. There are only 1.2 million of us in Maine. We depend on seasonal visitors to boost our coffers in the summer. But we need to be more active in attracting entrepreneurs and business people to the state.

That leads me to another point: We need to send the right message out to the rest of the country and the world. We've seen the kind of impact bad leadership can have. People in Indiana or North Carolina or Arizona will tell you they're not always happy with the message their elected leaders put out there, but, as a business community, we need to help our own elected leaders get the message straight. It starts with civility, but it is also about being careful about the unintended message we deliver.

This isn't about politics. It's about economic development. It's about attracting entrepreneurs. It's about attracting businesses from New England and beyond. It's about growing the state we live in and stand by.

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