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Jeremy Barnies served Diane and Donald Gagne at the Governor’s Restaurant in Lewiston on Tuesday. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
In this week’s Extra Buzz, Jason Clay, the newly announced owner of Maine’s Governor’s Restaurant & Bakery group and a longtime employee, discusses the success and challenges of the business. He bought five restaurants from the Wadleigh family, which founded the Governor’s Restaurant in 1959. The sale will be effective May 22.
Who will take your place/role?
We haven’t announced it yet, so it’s too early to comment, but we have a strong senior leadership team that will see a lot of people contributing.
Are you planning any significant changes to any of the locations in the near future?
We have a strong time-tested brand, and I have been operating businesses for many years. While change is inevitable, nothing major is on the horizon.
How are restaurants doing three years after the COVID-19 pandemic, and is there anything you’ve changed or learned from it that you still do?
We are blessed with loyal guests and great team members, and face many of the challenges that all businesses see today, including rising costs of goods, energy, supply chain issues and labor challenges. While we are returning to pre-pandemic operations, there are fundamental changes that are certain to the business.
While we’ve done third party takeout and delivery in the past, that part of the business seems to be here to stay.
There are things we tend to do like serve our full breakfast menu all day that we can’t do without overwhelming our team. And we’ve gotten better at working through staffing challenges and facilitating our business level with what our team can do on a particular shift. Sometimes that means we can’t seat the entire dining room, and most guests now understand that it gives them a better experience to wait a little longer before a table becomes available for them.
Staffing is a challenge for many in the hospitality industry, so how important is it for the Governor?
Ultimately our people are our greatest challenge and opportunity. We are fortunate to have a good core to build on. We have also invested heavily in retaining them over the past two years, by providing competitive salaries and great opportunities for benefits. We will continue to do that, and try to add to our team.
We are fortunate to be better off than most in our industry, but we are always looking to hire those looking for more opportunity. I am proud that all of our restaurant general managers started in our company as servers, cooks, cashiers and took advantage of opportunities to run their own stores. The future is bright for our company and our people.
Governor’s Restaurant & Bakery locations are in Bangor, Ellsworth, Lewiston, Old Town, Presque Isle and Waterville.
The Buzz offers quick hits about trending business events in the area. Have a Buzzable tip? Contact business writer Christopher Wheelock at 689-2817 or [email protected]
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