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V O L . X X I X N O. X X I V M I D C O A S T / D OW N E A S T O C T O B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 3 18 M idcoast Maine is a beehive of business activity, from a boutique hotel in Rockport set to open this winter to expanding food specialty brands and two unique home-based enterprises. Rockport Harbor Hotel to open this winter as midcoast shrugs off seasonal stereotype A luxury hotel is slated to open this winter in Rockport, a region of the midcoast traditionally considered a summer vacation spot. e Rockport Harbor Hotel will be a 20-room year-round establishment with two dining venues, a lobby-level bar and restaurant called Fire & Ice and top-floor venue called the Atrium with a retractable skylight, sliding glass doors and a view of Rockport Harbor. e new construction, located at 20 Central St. in the coastal town of 3,700 year-round residents, is part of the Bay View Collection, which also owns the adjacent Union Hall event space and three hotels in Camden. Online book- ings are already open for the future Rockport Harbor Hotel. Although opening at year's end was not the original plan, hotel director Matthew Levin likened the scenario to when the group opened 16 Bayview, a 21-room boutique hotel, in Camden in early 2016. "is actually worked out well because it allowed us to ramp up our operation smoothly and understand our staffing needs when demand was low," Levin said. "Much less stress opening a hotel on your own terms rather than trying to hit a deadline that may be unrealistic." e company declined to disclose its investment in the new Rockport hotel. All of the group's properties are open year-round, and Levin said that the new- est addition complements the collection by bringing luxury accommodations and additional dining venues to Rockport. Staffing plans At the start, the Rockport Harbor Hotel aims to employ around 15 to 20 people at the hotel, lobby bar and res- taurant. e hotel's general manager is Sarah McLean, who has worked at resorts, hotels and restaurants up and down the East Coast and bought a small packing and shipping store in Camden 20 years ago while she raised her family. "My hospitality roots have called me back, and I am thrilled to now be a team member with the Bay View Collection," she says. e hotel opening comes as the midcoast seeks to shed its stereotype as a summer-only playground, with win- ter events from Camden's Christmas by the Sea to U.S. Toboggan National Championships at the Camden Snow Bowl in early February. "e attractions of midcoast Maine don't end when the leaves fall," said Kathleen Pierce, member- ship and communications director at HospitalityMaine, the Augusta-based trade association. "More and more hospitalitarians are seizing on the coastal off-season charm of Rockland, Camden and Rockport and making significant investments." With "standout options" such as 250 Main Hotel in Rockland and the soon-to-open Rockport Harbor Hotel, "midcoast Maine is gain- ing steam as a cozy, romantic winter escape," she added. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E ยป F O C U S P H O T O / DAV I D C L O U G H Sarah McLean is the general manager of the Rockport Harbor Hotel, a boutique waterfront hotel set to open this winter in the coastal town. The future Rockport Harbor Hotel will be part of the Bay View Collection. P ROV I D E D P H O T O TURNING OVER A TURNING OVER A new leaf New year-round Rockport hotel tops regional roundup of midcoast business news B y R e n e e C o r d e s