Farmington couple buys Lucerne Inn

A couple from Farmington has purchased The Lucerne Inn for an undisclosed sum.

Steve and Rhonda Jones of Farmington bought the historic property from Bion Foster of Hampden. Steve Jones has operated convenience stores and a catering business in the Farmington area, and Rhonda Jones has worked at the University of Maine at Farmington. They plan to move to the Bangor area.

“Bion will be a tough act to follow,” Jones said Friday. Jones said they would take everything Foster and his wife, Dorain, have done and try to expand on it. “They have an excellent staff on hand,” he said. Depending on the season, the inn has 40 to 65 employees.

According to Foster, the inn has 26 rooms, and an addition has five guest rooms. The banquet and conference center, built in 1999, has been a very popular spot, serving as the host site for about 100 weddings a year. The inn has long been a popular place to dine.

Foster said he and Dorain were selling to free up time for their other ventures, which are numerous. Foster has been active in the Greater Bangor Chamber of Commerce and the town government in Hampden. They also operate laundromats, real estate development companies, are part owners of Young’s Canvas Shop in Bangor and are developing a subdivision on Main Road South in Hampden.

Foster also has more far-flung activities, like 12 beach-front homes in Hilton Head, S.C., which are rented for corporate retreats and extended family get-togethers.

The Lucerne Inn has prospered in recent years, but that wasn’t always the case.

The site was first developed after the War of 1812 as a half-way house, or stopover, for stagecoaches as they journeyed between Bangor and Ellsworth. But by the late 20th century, it had fallen on hard times. Owners Ralph and Barbara Willoughby filed for bankruptcy in 1975. But by 1987, the inn had been improved to the point that a Connecticut company paid more than $2 million for it from then-owners Joseph and Lois Foran.

By 1993, the Connecticut company, Baron Resources Ten Limited Partnership, put it up for sale in an auction with a minimum bid of $620,000. There were no takers. Later that year, a Virginia-based company, SKW, bought it for $560,000.

Bion Foster and Arthur Howard purchased it in 1994. Foster subsequently became sole proprietor, and Howard now lives in Florida.