Hancock restaurant, motel to change hands this month

HANCOCK – A well-known Route 1 motel and restaurant has been sold to a local businessman who owns two other hotels in Hancock County.

Gilbert Bailey, who founded White Birches Restaurant and Motel in 1980 with his wife, Gertrude Bailey, said Wednesday he has agreed to sell the property to Hancock businessman Dale Hadlock. The sale of the property, which includes a nine-hole golf course, is expected to close July 26, he said.

Bailey, 72, joked that Hadlock bought the property for $5,000, but then said the actual sale price was “in the millions.” He declined to specify how much Hadlock is paying for the property, but, according to Hadlock, the purchase price is roughly $2 million.

“I think we were well taken care of,” Bailey said of himself and his wife. “I got a good price for it.”

Hadlock said Thursday he decided to buy the property because of its location just over the town line from Ellsworth. He also owns Colonial Inn in Ellsworth, Best Western Inn in Bar Harbor and the Ellsworth-based businesses Coastal Med Tech, the Center for Sleep Disorders and Coastal Home Health Care.

“The growth of the Hancock County area is something that any businessman in Hancock County should pay attention to,” Hadlock said Thursday. “Location is a prime thing to go for when you look for an investment.”

Bailey said he and his spouse, who spend their winters in Florida, decided to sell the Hancock business because it had become more work than fun.

There wasn’t much to the property when he and his wife bought it in 1980, according to Bailey.

“It was an old farmhouse,” he said. “It wasn’t much of a golf course at the time.”

Bailey said he built the restaurant first and then some motel rooms, and then periodically expanded each part of the business as the years passed.

“As it demanded more [room], I kept adding,” he said.

Hadlock, a former Islesford fisherman who used to own Mill Mall in Ellsworth and other commercial properties and businesses in Bangor, Connecticut and Florida, said he plans to run White Birches as it is for at least two years. He said he plans to install a new computer system at the business and to increase revenues, particularly in renting out the restaurant for banquets and private events, by 30 percent within the next year.

“That’s our goal,” Hadlock said. “If that doesn’t work, naturally I have a backup plan.”

If the restaurant and motel business does not grow, he’ll consider converting the property for use as housing and assisted living, he said.

Bailey said selling the business wasn’t an easy decision for him and his wife to make.

“I’ll miss it,” he said. “You don’t build all of this without some attachment. It’s hard to let loose.”