Scott Folsom and his wife, Katie, pause in front of the remains of the Schooner Landing Restaurant and Marina, the Damariscotta business Scott has owned for 26 years, on Sunday, Sept. 1. While a fire destroyed the restaurant, the outdoor bar and most of the deck remain intact. (Johnathan Riley photo)
Schooner Landing Restaurant and Marina, a landmark waterfront business in downtown Damariscotta, was destroyed in a blaze in the early morning hours of Sunday, Sept. 1.
There were no fatalities or injuries in the fire, which Damariscotta Fire Chief John Roberts said took approximately a quarter of a million gallons of water to contain.
“We’re lucky it didn’t spread to the surrounding buildings,” Roberts said. “Having a fire that large and keeping it confined is as successful as you can hope for.”
The cause of the fire is still unknown, according to Roberts. The Maine Office of State Fire Marshal, Damariscotta Fire Department, and Damariscotta Police Department are conducting an investigation and are asking for public assistance.
The Lincoln County Communications Center paged the Damariscotta, Newcastle, and Bristol fire departments to Schooner Landing, at 47 Main St. in Damariscotta, at approximately 3 a.m. Sept. 1 for flames coming from the south side of the restaurant. Bremen, Nobleboro, and Waldoboro firefighters were paged to the scene shortly after to provide mutual aid. The Lincoln County Firefighter Strike Team also responded.
The building was involved when firefighters arrived on scene. Crews utilized three hydrants on Main Street in Damariscotta and Newcastle, flowing approximately 250,000 gallons of water to subdue the fire. According to Roberts, at the height of the blaze, firefighters were using 2,000 gallons of water a minute, which is roughly the amount a tanker can hold.
A strong and steady southern wind fueled the fire, according to Roberts, but kept the flames largely away from the marina full of boats around the pier.
Within an hour, a majority of the fire was under control, Roberts said.
Firefighters continued to work on scene throughout the night, extinguishing remaining flames and hot spots. An excavator, owned and operated by Matt Benner, of Nobleboro, was called in around 11 a.m. to help firefighters reach remaining hotspots in the flooring and foundation.
At 1:30 p.m., over 10 hours after initially arriving, firefighters cleared the scene. Crews were called back to the scene around 3 p.m. to extinguish a hot spot. In total, over 50 firefighters helped to battle the blaze, Roberts said.
This isn’t the first major fire at Schooner Landing, which opened in May 1990 under the ownership of Randy and Kathy Duncan. In February 1993, 60 firefighters fought a blaze in 40-below wind chill and high winds for four hours, according to Lincoln County News archives.
Today, the business is co-owned by Scott Folsom and Caleb Jones.
Folsom purchased Schooner Landing 26 years ago with his business partner Charlie Herrick, who died in 2019. Jones, who has worked for the restaurant for 16 years as a server, bartender, and manager, took an ownership stake in the business thereafter.
In addition to being a bustling marina and seasonal restaurant, Schooner Landing was a fixture in the Midcoast music scene that had recently resumed daily live music performances for the first
time since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The business also hosted a weekly, popular open mic.
“It’s hard, I’m still processing,” Folsom said Tuesday, Sept. 3. He received a call from Damariscotta Police Chief Jason Warlick about the fire early Sept. 1 and drove to the scene as firefighters continued to battle the initial blaze.
The building was insured, according to Folsom, and the plan is to rebuild the business on the pier.
Jones said he and Folsom, as well as hiring manager Meg Tschaikowsky, manager Steve Greenwood, and the rest of the staff, know the loss of the restaurant is hard for them as well as the community. What made the place special, he added, wasn’t the building itself, but the lives lived within its walls.
“This place, before it burned, had the heart of such a history you could feel it walking through,” Jones said. “Schooner Landing was great because it had years of people involved in it, it wasn’t great because it was a pieced together building with some warped boards; it was great because everybody had been there for so long and the love of those people is what made it great.”
Since the fire, Folsom said the outreach from people offering their support and condolences has been “overwhelming and phenomenal,” including friends and customers from near and far.
“There were people at 4 a.m. in the driveway (of the restaurant) I haven’t seen in 10 years hugging and crying,” he said. “The whole outreach has been amazing, but that’s the town we live in, you know?”
Folsom said it’s become apparent to him the importance of the restaurant in the hearts of its patrons and employees.
“It was very apparent to me when I woke up Monday morning that the community needs this place and wants it,” Folsom said. “We kind of always knew it was the heart of the community, but boy, did it become apparent.”
“I know how much myself and everybody else pours their heart into this place,” Jones said. “Whether you’re a patron or an employee or manager or part owner, there’s all different forms of love for this place.”
The business, which normally has another month and a half of the season, will host a fundraising event on the property to help offset the financial impact on employees on Sunday, Sept. 22 with bands and other details to be determined soon.
Folsom and Jones said the event will also serve as a memorial for the building and people from the community are encouraged to bring photos and memories of the old structure.
“We know how heartbreaking this is for everybody because it means the end of an era,” Jones said. “I want to build on it again because it’s going to have another era. It’s going to be built.”
Folsom, Jones, and 50-member staff still held their planned employee party the day after the structure burned with Damariscotta River Cruises on Monday, Sept 2.
“We thought about not holding the party, but we realized we needed to do it now more than ever,” Folsom said.
The staff loaded up in the Teciani, Damariscotta River Cruises’ flagship boat parked in the marina, for a trip down and up the river where Folsom said he had the opportunity to talk to everyone and assure them of the future.
“We had a chance to talk to the staff and talk it through and I had a chance to tell them that we’d find a way to take care of them and we’ll get through it,” Folsom said.
“We got through Charlie passing, we got through COVID. We can get through this.”
For more information and updates about the building and events, follow the business on Facebook at Schooner Landing Restaurant and Marina. Those interested in donating to the employees can email caleb.schoonerlanding@gmail.com.
If individuals have any photographs or videos from before the fire department’s arrival at Schooner Landing or witnessed suspicious activity, call the Maine Department of Public Safety Regional Communications Center at 624-7076.
(Editor’s note: After this article was printed in the Sept. 5 edition, the date of the fundraising event was changed by organizers. The fundraiser will now be held on Sunday, Sept. 22.)
