Mainebiz Special Editions

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 25 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine C E O I N T E RV I E W MB: In Tokyo you're known as a New York rather than a Maine brand. Do you see this changing with a larger presence on your home turf? BC: We have always tried to present ourselves to our Japanese audience as a Maine brand selling Maine seafood. e challenge we hit was that no one in Japan knew what Maine was, and they're all interested in trends and hap- penings in New York. So often our team there will fall back on the New York parts of our story because it's a place their guests are familiar with. We think the combination of a Luke's destination in Maine that's easy for international tourists to visit, along with us continu- ing to encourage a culture of knowing where your food came from and how it got to your plate, will lead to a more rec- ognizable brand for Maine over time. Mainebiz: Having recently achieved certified B Corp status, what's your advice to other companies thinking of doing the same? BC: Do it! Going through the rigor- ous B Corp certification helps you celebrate things you do really well, shore up things you've been doing but haven't formalized yet, and also create a road map for improving parts of your business where you could do better by the planet or society. Once you start truly measuring your impact, you can set goals to get better and better every year. We believe that every company should be in the busi- ness of doing good, not just making money, and B Corp is a great way to verify that and then do more. If you're planning to do it, my biggest piece of advice is to start to organize the paperwork underlying your business and think about turning "the way you do things" into actual written policies. is will be necessary to prove out the good that you say you do, and ulti- mately will be good to enshrine your mission to keep you from swerving when times get tough. MB: What are your medium- to long-term hiring plans for Maine? LH: It was an amazing feeling to add 100 people to our Maine team when we opened Portland Pier. Between there, Luke's at Tenants Harbor and especially our seafood company in Saco, we now have close to 300 teammates in Maine. We always want to continue to grow, and we are looking at investments to This was the chance we had been waiting for to come home in a way that had a greater impact than just a restaurant. — Luke Holden P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » Outdoor deck at Luke's. Trustworthy Reliable Strategic Partner Experienced RUDMAN WINCHELL 207.947.4501 rudmanwinchell.com C O U N S E L O R S A T L A W Everything you need to protect your family, business and community.

• Cover