Saddleback’s Mid-Mountain Lodge is close to completion. All it lacks is a chef with some name recognition.
The Mid-Mountain lodge will be open for the upcoming ski season and it aims to attract a chef who can bring some passion, energy and destination-worthy food to the 3,700-foot elevation spot.
“We’re looking for someone who is looking for a blank canvas to paint their culinary vision,” said Andy Shepard, who recently retired as general manager of Saddleback but is continuing to oversee the Mid-Mountain Lodge project. “Portland is a culinary hotbed in the nation. There has to be chefs or sous chefs in Portland who want to bring their talents to life here.”
Courtesy / Saddleback Mountain
The Mid-Mountain Lodge, shown here in a rendering, offers great views at 3,700 feet.
The restaurant will offer seating for 95 people in a 2,700-square-foot building. The dining experience for guests will feature entirely glass views of the mountain and lakes region.
New investment, new vision
Arctaris Impact Fund bought Saddleback in 2019 for $6.5 million after the resort had been closed for five years. In the past three years, Boston-based private equity fund has pumped more than $40 million dollars into the resort, adding four new lifts, $3 million in snowmaking upgrades, three new groomers, a major renovation of the base lodge, as well as construction of a solar farm and the Mid-Mountain Lodge.
In its first full year since reopening, Saddleback attracted over 72,000 skier visits.
Now Maine’s third-largest ski mountain is working to expand its four-season programs for weddings and summer outdoor recreation. That will help attract diners to the year-round restaurant.
Saddleback, which dates to 1960, recently launched a capital campaign to fund construction of a $4.5 million affordable housing complex including 100 units for seasonal workers in the Rangeley area.
To lure a chef, the resort is willing to assist with housing, offer season ski passes for the chef and family, and offer discounts for retail and services on site.
“We’re going to keep looking until we find the right person,” Shepard said.
Blending with the surroundings
The Mid-Mountain Lodge is located in Bicknell’s Thrush habitat and Saddleback has collaborated with the Maine Audubon Society to pay close attention to the needs of that habitat.
The lodge will feature glass designed to minimize bird strikes and the roof will be an undulating sod roof with native low bush blueberries and grasses. The building has strategically placed windows to open up the views to the Rangeley Lakes Region.
The natural roof will make the structure appear to blend in as a natural feature from the limited vantage points along the Appalachian Trail, while also providing habitat for the birds.
“We making sure we’re putting our commitment to the environment into actions, not just words,” Shepard said. “We’re hoping this becomes a model for alpine construction nationally.”
“A lot of mid-mountain lodges are warehouses. We wanted this experience to be different. What we’re looking to provide is a unique dining experience that puts people in this amazing environment,” Shepard said. “We want a simple, elegant dining experience.”
Just below the mountain is the village of Rangeley, which is the gateway to Rangeley Lake, Mooselookmeguntic and Richardson Lakes.
“It’s some of the best fly fishing in the world. Kings and queens and presidents have all come here to fly fish. There’s boating, biking and hiking in the summer. In the winter, of course, there’s snowmobiling, skiing, cross country. It’s a vibrant community year-round,” Shepard said.
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