Barbara Merrill to open restaurant

SOUTHWEST HARBOR – Having fallen short in her bid last year to oust the current governor from office, a former state representative has decided to enter the same line of work that helped launch Gov. John Baldacci’s political career.

Barbara Merrill, an Appleton lawyer who got just more than 20 percent of the vote and finished third in last fall’s five-way gubernatorial race, is opening a new restaurant in the local village of Manset.

The planned eatery, Blame It On Rio, is not in the same neighborhood and will not serve the same type of food as Baldacci’s Restaurant on Alden Street in Bangor, the Baldacci family enterprise that specializes in Italian cuisine.

Instead, it will be directly across Shore Road from the Manset town dock, and will have a commanding view of the harbor and the mountains of Acadia National Park.

Merrill and her husband, Philip Merrill, appeared before selectmen Tuesday to see if officials would approve their application for a liquor license.

“We’re so pleased to be here,” Merrill told the board. “We’re going to do Brazilian-inspired food.”

The couple hope to open the restaurant by the end of May, they said. Selectmen had few questions and approved the application after just a few minutes.

Barbara Merrill said Wednesday that she, her husband and their two children frequently have traveled to Southwest Harbor on their old lobster boat in the summer and stayed at a local marina. She said that before going to law school, she worked in restaurants for 10 years, including at DeMillo’s and Jay’s Oyster Bar in Portland.

The couple have wanted to get back in the restaurant business for a while and may end up moving permanently to Southwest Harbor, she said.

Merrill, who lived in Brazil for a time in her youth, said she has not decided to give up politics for good. As she put it, she’s on sabbatical from seeking elective office.

“The best training you get for politics is the restaurant business,” she said. “You never say never.”

As for the restaurant’s name, Merrill said it is meant to be a fun jab at her recent gubernatorial campaign.

“You’ve got to move on,” she said. “There’s no point in blaming it on Baldacci anymore.”