Matt Peters, one of the most recognized faces in the Twin Village restaurant scene, poses on the stoop of his Damariscotta home on June 3, where he lives with his fiancée, Lilia Hayford, and their affectionate and English Lab, Clara.
When passing through the Twin Villages there are a few certainties: the rise and fall of the Damariscotta River, tourists calling the town “Duh-mar-iscotta,” and then, running into Matt Peters.
Some may know him as former manager and lead bartender at the Newcastle Publick House, others may be more familiar with his role at S. Fernald’s Country Store in Damariscotta.
Wherever the spot in town may be, Peters has been working out front, with the residents of the Twin Villages and the people who pass through it, for the better part of the last decade and established himself as a face of the community.
Peters is from the area, growing up just down the road from Damariscotta.
“My brother, Ryan, and I grew up in Edgecomb. Our parents, Steve and Dorothy, are both from New York and moved up here to start a family. And they were both involved with the community. They’ve always been involved in the town. They both worked for Miles Memorial Hospital in the 90s. My dad, I mean, worked at Schooner Cove for 20 years,” said Peters.
Peters’ affinity for Damariscotta grew out of necessity. The town of Edgecomb is known for many things, but its bustling downtown is not one of them.
“Damariscotta was ‘the town,’ so we always wanted to hang out there and I got to skateboard on the weekends in the morning with my friend, Shannon. We’d come into town and skate around but as a kid, it always reminded me of ‘Back to the Future’ with how the town looks with the clock tower,” said Peters, a fan of film to this day.
When Peters graduated from Lincoln Academy in 2008, he hit Portland, where he worked at a restaurant and fell into the culinary program at Southern Maine Community College.
“I didn’t stick it out, I talk too much for the kitchen and was better out front. That’s what I took away from culinary school was, ‘Oh, I’m not a chef,’” he said.
Moving back to the Damariscotta area was when Peters established himself behind his first counter: Fernald’s.
“This shift kind of happened when I moved back from Portland, while I was working at Fernald’s for years,” Peters said. “People started knowing who I was instead of just from my parents.”
After working at Fernald’s for three years, Peters landed a job at the Publick House where he would meet his eventual fiancee, Lilia Hayford, who is currently a baker at Oysterhead Pizza Co.
Peters has been living right around town for the better part of the last decade, living next to the Publick House during a portion of his time there, then over on Glidden Street, but never actually in Damariscotta.
“We lived out in Whitefield this past winter but were able to land a good spot in Damariscotta recently,” said Peters. “This is exactly where we want to be. And there’s a quality of life that I’m really grateful for, that I think this place provides and, again, getting to be a part of this community is so important.”
Peters and Hayford live with a loving and playful black English Lab named Clara.
Peters recently stepped into a new role, with just as much visibility as his previous jobs, at Newcastle’s Shuck Station, owned by Brendan Parsons.
“I just started a new job this year as the manager at the Shuck Station. It’s a great opportunity for me,” said Peters.
“All of this, me and Lilia’s relationship, none of this would be possible if I hadn’t stopped drinking and I think it’s important to speak to that,” said Peters, looking at his record collection.
After getting sober at 25, Matt started working at the Publick House in Newcastle only two months later, something Alcoholics Anonymous programs say not to do – the time-tested advice to those new to sobriety is to remove yourself from the places and friends of “habit” and find new pastures.
Peters didn’t do that; he stayed.
“I couldn’t imagine leaving,” he said. “This is where I want to be.”
“They tell you you’re supposed to change your people places and things and that is impossible in a small town,” said Peters.
The fact that Peters started bartending only two months after getting sober is impressive, but for him, it made sense.
“I love live music, and being able to go to work, hear music and see friends made it worth it,” said Peters.
It’s not lost on Peters though that this wasn’t a typical path, but he made it work.
“I couldn’t have done that job at the Publick House had I been drinking. I just couldn’t have,” said Peters.
Peters helped facilitate live music events and open mic at the Publick House for years, building those events for everyone, not just for people drinking.
“If I can help someone find their way here, well, then I want to,” Peters said. “I’m not getting up on a soapbox to tell everyone to stop drinking: everyone has their own path and I want to people to know that if sobriety is your path that it is possible around here. I want to help create those spaces.”
While Peters no longer works at the Publick House, he still wants to get the word out about music events there and in the area, mentioning seeing local bands like Driving Charlie Home and the Gainers.
“I hope to get the word out that open mic and karaoke isn’t just a scene to party, but it’s an outlet for people. I do and would encourage people who don’t drink to come out to those events, but I understand that it may be too much of a bar scene,” said Peters.
Peters spoke on the importance of fostering and remembering the year-round community, and addressed some of his concerns for cultivating that environment.
“If we are going to kind of build the town up a little bit, we need housing for people to, you know, be here,” Peters said. “If you want people to work here, we need places for them to live. And, that’s a problem right now.”
While Peters may enjoy helping tourists find their way on vacation, directing them to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse Park or their way through town, it’s important to him to remember that the town is a year-round community.
“Obviously tourism is a big part of our infrastructure here; there really are people here all year,” he said. “And that is something that needs to be taken into consideration for all of us, because it’s not just about the summer season, it’s about a quality of life for all of us who do call this place home, all the time.”
When asked his favorite places in the Midcoast, Peters responded with little hesitation.
“My favorite place in the world is the lighthouse. It’s my place of solace. It’s naturally very meditative,” said Peters. “Being on the edge of the ocean is my favorite place.”
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