"It has been a privilege to serve you at Lincolnville Beach in three locations for the past 48 years," Rick McLaughlin wrote in late August. He posted it on a Tuesday night. McLaughlin's Lobster Shack had already served its last meal that Sunday, August 23, 2026. He cited the long hours. He also said he hoped someone else would open a restaurant in the building.
The Bangor Daily News called it the latest Lincolnville Beach restaurant to close in the last few years. Most stories would end there. At Lincolnville Beach, the closings are only half of what's happening. The three restaurant buildings now belong to owners who haven't said what comes next. Meanwhile, the town and MaineDOT are working on a parking lot, a sidewalk, a new boat ramp and a study meant to set the harbor's direction. For now, the projects most likely to change your next trip to the beach are public ones.
Where the Three Restaurant Buildings Stand
Each building on the old restaurant row got to this fall in a different way. Here is what's on the public record as of early October 2026:
| Building | What happened | Where it stands now |
|---|---|---|
| McLaughlin's Lobster Shack | Closed August 23, 2026, after 48 years | Auctioned October 2, 2026; no buyer or price reported |
| Whale's Tooth Pub | Closed nearly two years before it sold | Sold in May 2026 for $950,000 to Checkers LLC; not reopened |
| The Lobster Pound | Last served meals in 2023, then damaged in the winter 2024 storms | Reopened as a gift shop only in summer 2025; 2026 status unconfirmed |
The McLaughlin's building went to a live auction run by Keenan Auction Company. The listing described a 4,083-square-foot restaurant building on about a third of an acre, with ocean views and the food-service equipment included. The listing now says the sale is completed. No winning bidder, price or plan for the building has been made public. So McLaughlin's hope for another restaurant is still just a hope.
The Whale's Tooth sold in May to Checkers LLC, a company with a Boston address. When the BDN reported the sale, the buyer's plans weren't known. The pub hadn't reopened by late August. Town records don't show any plans either. The Planning Board agendas posted through August 26 list other commercial and shoreland requests, but nothing for the Whale's Tooth or Checkers LLC. The liquor items on the Select Board's August 24 and September 14 agendas cover a Camp DeForest renewal and catering permits.
The Lobster Pound's story is older. The restaurant last served in 2023, and the storms of winter 2024 damaged the building. In summer 2025 it came back as a gift shop, which the BDN called a "mini moose" museum, while the restaurant stayed closed for good. The property had also been put back on the market in 2024. We couldn't find anything from 2026 confirming whether the shop is still open or whether the property has sold.
All three buildings are now waiting on decisions their owners haven't announced.
Where to Get Coffee and Lunch at the Beach This Fall
The beach still has places to eat and shop. They're just not the old restaurant row.
Maine Artisans Collective has the most recent proof that it's open. On Saturday, October 3, 2026, it posted an invitation to stop in for samples. Its 2026 season notice listed reopening on May 1 with hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
These places list current menus and hours on their websites. The pages aren't dated, so check before you go.
- Lincolnville Beach Store lists pizza, subs, sandwiches, breakfast items and seasonal ice cream, with posted weekday and weekend hours.
- Dot's Market at 2457 Atlantic Highway lists baked goods, coffee, deli items and prepared foods, plus its weekly hours.
- Green Tree Coffee & Tea describes itself as a Lincolnville coffee shop and roaster.
- The Spouter Inn Bed & Breakfast at 2506 Atlantic Highway is right across from the beach and serves breakfast to its guests, which is useful when friends visit and want to stay close to the water.
A lobster dinner by the beach this fall isn't guaranteed. A coffee, a sandwich and a walk on the sand still are.
The Public Projects Most Likely to Change the Beach Next
While the private buildings wait, plans for the public waterfront are already moving.
A ferry parking lot and a new sidewalk. On February 25, 2026, MaineDOT awarded Ranger Construction a contract for a new ferry-terminal parking lot and pedestrian improvements. In late March, the Select Board's packet said MaineDOT was about to start building the lot on the former McLaughlin's site. That's one of the shack's earlier locations, not the building auctioned this month. The same project adds a sidewalk on the ocean side of McKay Road from Route 1 to the ferry terminal. It also adds crosswalk striping across the boat-launch area and the ferry causeway to the terminal building. We haven't found a later update on how far construction has gotten.
A redesigned boat ramp. The town hired Gartley & Dorsky to redesign the boat-launch ramp, parking and shoreline stabilization. That work is on land the town recently acquired, where the old wastewater treatment plant stood. On March 23, the Select Board picked Option 3 and agreed to tell MaineDOT so the new sidewalk would have curb openings in the right places. The two town documents count the spaces a little differently. The packet says three trailer spaces and eight car spaces. The approved minutes say eight regular spaces and two angled trailer spaces. Either way, it's a small, defined plan for the spot where people launch boats and park for the ferry. Permits and a construction date hadn't shown up in town materials by fall.
A harbor study with money behind it. Lincolnville received a $79,962 Community Resilience Partnership grant for a harbor resilience assessment and visioning project. The BDN reported the award on September 17. The program draws partly on state money set aside after the December 2023 and January 2024 storms. Its goal is to help towns deal with weak spots before the next big storm. A Select Board subcommittee reviewed six qualified proposals and unanimously recommended The Musson Group for up to $60,000 of the work. The Midcoast Council of Governments would do the rest for up to $17,952. Those agreements were in the September 14 packet as proposed motions. We haven't seen minutes confirming they passed.
Separately, the town was looking into a federal disaster-relief grant for storm work at the pier and boat launch, both damaged in 2023 and 2024. That grant would require a 20 percent local match, which would need to be authorized later.
The Ferry Work Got Smaller, and So Did the Terminal Project
The Islesboro ferry is the beach's steadiest business, and its plans changed too. The replacement design went from a 207-foot diesel-electric hybrid with rapid shoreside charging to a 172-foot hybrid-assist ferry. With that change, the Lincolnville terminal work shrank to electrical upgrades, paving the transfer bridge and stabilizing the slope with riprap. Pen extensions, wave fencing, an electrical building and rapid charging were dropped from the local plans. MaineDOT's 2026 work plan set aside $39 million for the new ferry and $33 million for facilities in Lincolnville and Islesboro. The hybrid would run on electric power while loading and unloading and use about 20 percent less fuel than the current boat. As of the BDN's March report, the design hadn't gone out to bid.
For anyone who parks at the beach, that means less construction at the terminal than the original 207-foot plan would have needed.
On Route 1, MaineDOT started a $9.4 million rehab on April 27, 2026. It covers 1.56 miles starting 0.55 miles north of Sagamore Farm Road, with drainage, safety work and new pavement. The state expected to finish by July, but we haven't seen a completion notice. A larger reconstruction farther along Route 1 is in early planning. MaineDOT took public comment September 14–30, and the Select Board's September 28 agenda listed a Route 1 follow-up with the department.
The Rules Any New Restaurant Owner Will Work Under
Any new owner of these buildings will also face rules that changed this year. On June 9, 2026, voters approved changes to Commercial Site Plan Review, 679 to 207. The changes came out of the debate over a proposed retail store at Drake Corner. They give the town a way to review commercial projects' impacts, with full review for major projects and faster review for minor ones. The town's current Land Use Ordinance shows the June 2026 amendments. How these rules apply to a reopening on Lincolnville Beach depends on the specific plan, and no one has filed one yet.
So here's where the beach stands this October. The owners of the three restaurant buildings haven't said anything publicly. The town has a ramp design, a grant, a short list of consultants and a contract it's preparing to sign. If you want a say in what Lincolnville Beach becomes, watch the Select Board agendas for the harbor resilience and visioning project.
At The Uhll Group, we're following the McLaughlin's auction results, the Whale's Tooth plans and the harbor study, and we'll share what we learn as it becomes public. If you're curious what any of it means for your street near the beach, give us a call.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
