Morning light streams in the view windows as Sue Johnson, manager, prepares for the day at The Corner Side.
After five months of non-stop work on the old Scribner’s building at 2485 Main Street in Rangeley, John & Birgitta Parker opened the new Corner Side restaurant to an enthusiastic crowd on June 25th. They have created a dining establishment like no other in Rangeley or the surrounding area. The Corner Side is quiet, intimate, with an elegant-but-casual ambiance–and with a menu that changes weekly (hint: every Thursday) it certainly warrants regular visits to sample the fare.
Chef Virgil Brown has 18 years of professional cooking to his credit. He lets his talents shine with locally-sourced, seasonal, and organic ingredients at his fingertips. The menu is fresh, inspired and truly unique for this area. Appetizers are just right to nibble while sipping a glass of wine or enjoying a special cocktail watching the ever-changing light across the way on Haley Pond. Dinner samplings range from duck breast, to lamb and surf ‘n’ turf as well as vegetarian plates all with some very interesting flavor combinations.
The breakfast chef, Lisa Klefos, puts her experience as a pastry chef to work making a variety of melt-in-your mouth goodies for breakfast including croissants that rival any from a Parisian bakery. But croissants aren’t just for breakfast anymore–you can sample them for lunch stuffed with lobster salad!
The Corner Side offers an excellent selection of wines available by the glass or bottle, including Maine-made and organic wines, as well as full bar service. Birgitta often features some fun specialty cocktails that serve up new taste sensations for the the spirit enthusiast. Sitting at the bar, a lovely expanse of richly varnished mahogany, one can take in the view across to Haley Pond or see who’s going by on Main Street–a spot like no other in town!
Birgitta Parker, owner of The Corner Side, is ready for breakfast service.
Birgitta Parker may be new to the restaurant business but there were certain decisions for which she needed no guidance. As the owner of an interior decorating business she says, “I knew exactly what I wanted The Corner Side to look like and it has all come together just as I had imagined. I’m very happy with this space.” The colors, fabrics, and fixtures are a graceful blend of old-fashioned and modern. As small as the restaurant is, it actually has distinctly different seating areas with ambiances to suit your mood. The Haley Pond side has large view windows and light colors for a more open and breezy feeling while the Main Street side has darker colors, a copper ceiling, heavy, elegant drapes and booth seating for a more cozy, intimate setting–all exactly as planned.
Birgitta is also a “green crusader” in her personal life as well as her business operations. Her commitment to source food ingredients that are organic, sustainable, and grown or raised locally is admirable. She has made sure that any soap or chemical products used are all biodegradable and environmentally safe. Recycling is paramount and if anything does go into the dumpster, it’s in a cornstarch-based trash bag that is 100% biodegradable. Even the take-away containers are compostable cardboard. She makes sure that her carbon-footprint is as small as possible and encourages other to do the same at every opportunity.
As for “keeping it local”, the Parker’s have included many local contractors, suppliers, and artists in this overall project. Featured at the Corner Side are several art pieces in a variety of media by local artist, Ashley Gray, also known for his roofing company Standing Seam Metal Roofing. He is world-renowned for his spectacular bird carvings, one of which is a great blue heron relief carving between the windows on the Haley Pond side–as if it had just landed there! A spectacular painting of a running horse fills the wall opposite the bar and a very organic, carved wooden bench sits nestled between the front windows. Classic black and white photographs of area camps and life on the lakes from yesteryear dot the remaining wall spaces–truly a graceful blend of old and new.
Touted as the beginning of the Rangeley Renaissance, this rehabilitation project of the Parker’s has been a tremendous shot-in-the-arm for Rangeley’s Main Street in many ways. The four new businesses at 2485 Main Street have generated no less than fifteen new year-round jobs. That’s a pretty big boost for a town of Rangeley’s size. Let’s make sure these businesses thrive–keeping our Main Street alive. See you at The Corner Side!
The Corner Side is open for Sunday brunch, Monday open at 2 PM for bar and dinner, Tuesday through Saturday for breakfast, lunch and dinner, 9 AM to 9 PM. On the web at www.atthecornerside.com or call 207-864-2883.
