I am writing in response to an entry in the “Cleaning out the inbox …” editorial of Nov. 28.

In the article — which was very kind and much appreciated — I was mentioned as creating my own restaurant district on Lisbon Street in Lewiston. It references Marché, our new lunch spot that we are in the process of developing at 40 Lisbon St., and Fuel, our restaurant at 49 Lisbon St.

Although I am certainly flattered, I need to point out that there is much going on around our developments, making a tremendous impact on our decisions and how we move forward and invest.

In the past few years, several restaurants have made a commitment to the downtown area, and together, created a destination for locally owned dining.

Fish Bones, the new DaVinci’s, Espo’s, Antonio’s, Willy Bean’s, Mother India, City Side Grill and Guthries have all opened in the past few years. That’s eight new spots, in addition to Fuel and Marché. Diners have a choice of nine new restaurants (soon to be 10), all within a quarter-mile of each other. That’s in addition to several others that have been around for years.

That’s the bigger, more important story.

Because of our collective work, when someone wants to go out to eat in Lewiston, downtown is the obvious choice.

We would not have invested in Marché without the collective success of our peers. We are all investing in our properties, creating traffic, advertising and employment right here in downtown. That matters.

On a recent evening, my wife, Carrie, and I closed Fuel and walked to Guthries. (That whole “within a quarter-mile” thing is pretty cool). We saw a number of people at Guthries who had just eaten at Fuel and continued their evening by listening to the fabulous band. I am sure others had come from Fish Bones, DaVinci’s and the rest. That’s powerful. And it is a model that makes places such as the Old Port in Portland a success.

Finally, you mentioned my name, but not my wife and partner, Carrie. I need to say that without her tremendous dedication and hard work, none of this would be happening. She is a force within our business, making us better every day.

Thank you once again for your very kind comments. Hopefully, someday soon, the Sun Journal will be writing about a destination dining district known statewide and beyond: Downtown Lewiston.

Eric Agren, Lewiston