Saying Goodbye Pilots Grill to close at the end of December after 62 years as a Bangor institution

loading...

Pilots Grill, the restaurant that has served as the stage for many of the state’s most historic events, from end-of-war celebrations to political victory parties, will close at the end of the year.

Owner Bill Zoidis, whose father, Paul, opened the restaurant in 1940, notified his more than 60 employees over the weekend that negotiations with two separate buyers did not work out and the “painful” decision to close had been reached.

“It was like a funeral,” said Zoidis on Monday, when the 71-year-old owner decided to publicize his intentions.

One buyer candidate wanted to turn the Outer Hammond Street building into a culinary institute, while another talked about converting the space into offices. But Zoidis, who has listed the building and about 3.5 of his almost 9 acres for sale, said, “I learned a long time ago you take checks to the bank, not promises.”

The property along with the restaurant equipment is listed for $795,000, according to John Vogel, a Realtor with Dawson Commercial Realty in Bangor.

“We’re hoping another restaurant comes in, that’s why the equipment is included,” Vogel said.

The restaurant’s last day will be Dec. 31, and customers who have booked holiday parties were notified that they are still on, but arrangements have to be made for next year’s events, Zoidis said.

Within the confines of the restaurant’s wood-paneled walls are the secrets that shaped Maine’s history. Political power struggles have ensued over lunch, and deals have been brokered over martinis on white tablecloths.

And Zoidis, who admits there were conversations he heard that he wished he hadn’t, has remained quiet, adhering to a self-imposed policy of being a loyal, trusted ally to his patrons. On Monday, he chuckled when he remembered that his wife, Sally, once called his silence stellar, more commendable than that of a religious leader.

“Like we always used to say, ‘If these walls could talk,'” Zoidis said.

On Monday, Zoidis stood inside his multiroom restaurant and pointed to areas or tables where the late U.S. Sen. Edmund Muskie conducted meetings with staffers, and where a firefighter sat one seat away from the president of Bangor and Aroostook Railroad. He reminisced as if scenes were unfolding in front of him again, in a fashion almost like the baseball players who appeared out of the Iowa cornfields in the movie, “Field of Dreams.”

For Zoidis, his cast of favorite patrons included just about everyone who walked through the door. He said his philosophy was to cater to “middle America” – military personnel who shipped out to war and (he hoped) came back, couples who became engaged and returned for anniversary celebrations, and politicians who kicked off campaigns and then later booked tables for victory parties.

“It’s celebrations like that; it’s life,” said Zoidis, who began working at the restaurant on Thanksgiving Day 1943 at age 13. “You just can’t remember them all.”

He does remember that his three children followed in his footsteps – Christopher, Paulette and Lindsley each began working at the restaurant on Thanksgiving Day when they were 13.

Pilots has been at its “current location” for almost 50 years, moving from its original site near the runway of the then-Bangor Airfield in 1956. The move was to make way for the expansion of Dow Air Force Base, and a location was picked on Outer Hammond Street that was to be near the then-planned Interstate 95.

But Zoidis said around that time came the first “double cross” by the city of Bangor. After months of talk that the highway would be one mile west of his restaurant so east-bound town traffic would pass the restaurant, the city put the restaurant 11/2 miles east. The second “double cross” came when the city decided the Bangor Mall would be located several miles away, he said.

Yet city, state and national politicians didn’t stop coming to Pilots Grill.

“It was the place to be seen and to see,” Zoidis said.

And the place to watch airplanes. The glass-enclosed Sky View Room was added to the restaurant in the late 1950s so patrons could view takeoffs and landings. It wasn’t the same as being right next to the airfield, but they still could eat marinated beans – “my grandmother’s recipe” – or put Pilots Grill’s own cheese spread on crackers.

Zoidis took over the restaurant from his father and his two uncles, Peter and Ernest, and was partnered with Andy Gass for almost 30 years. Zoidis said he never hired managers to operate the restaurant “because once you hire managers you become like the chains.”

Zoidis’ daughter, Paulette, has worked at the restaurant for more than eight years, but she will not be taking over Pilots in its current location. She said she wants to take a break for a couple of years and try to open a restaurant along the city’s waterfront once it is developed.

Her father said he understands his children’s desire not to succeed him. The restaurant needs modernization, for one thing, and its operations are too much for one person to handle alone.

“There were always three family members in the business,” he said.

Zoidis is going to take a break, too. He said he’s going to stay in Maine, but spend a couple of months each winter in Florida.

“I’m going to be 72 [years old] in December, it’s time to go,” Zoidis said.

But some of his patrons are trying to come to terms with the closure.

Waitress Nicole Brown said one of the restaurant’s regular customers, a New Brunswick couple that has stopped by twice a year for 50 years when traveling between the province and South Carolina, ate at the restaurant Monday afternoon. Brown said that as they were leaving, they commented, “See you in the spring.”

“I had to tell them we aren’t going to be here in the spring,” Brown said. “The man started crying. He said this place set the bar for fine dining in the state of Maine.”

Charlotte Shaughnessy of Brewer, who took her daughter, Georgia Pashley of Deer Isle, to dinner to celebrate her birthday, said she was saddened by the closure. Shaughnessy and other members of the Brewer High School Class of 1943 meet at Pilots the third Wednesday of each month for lunch.

“Now what are we going to do?” she asked.

Shaughnessy said the best time she had at Pilots was on Thanksgiving two years ago. In attendance were four generations of her family: her daughter, Georgia; Georgia’s son, Todd; and Todd’s daughter, Lilah.

Bangor Realtor Jon Dawson said, “It marks the end of an era, and it’s probably symbolic of the inevitability of change.”

Dawson said his most memorable time at Pilots was his wedding reception with his wife, Nancy, who also is a Realtor, more than 28 years ago.

Longtime restaurateur Sonny Miller said he was aware that Zoidis was trying to sell the property, but Monday’s announcement of plans to close the restaurant surprised him.

“I used to be a customer out there before I started,” Miller said. “I think it’s sad that we’re losing a fine restaurant.”

But waitress Sandie Newman said she’d miss the customers. “It’s a family here,” she said.

Zoidis said he’s never celebrated one of life’s most memorable moments at his restaurant because his life has been about taking part in the lives of his customers.

He said, though, that he remembers talking once with the late Boston Red Sox slugger Ted Williams when Williams stopped by on one of his annual visits.

Williams had just retired from baseball, ending his career with a home run, and Zoidis said he asked him why he was quitting after having such a successful year.

In recalling the conversation, Zoidis said Williams told him, “You know? You’ve got a nice place here, but when you leave, leave a winner.”

“I’ve never forgotten that,” Zoidis said.