Pub to open in former Winslow pizza shop, marking town’s 4th restaurant-bar

WINSLOW — Fifteen years ago, Scott McIntire helped kick off the revitalization of downtown Richmond when he opened The Old Goat Pub in a former bank building on Main Street.

Now, he’s bringing business to Winslow, with a plan to open a second bar-restaurant at 82 Clinton Ave., the former longtime home of It’s A Good Pizza, which closed last year.

“I think there’s going to be some good growth up here,” McIntire, 60, said of his choice to expand into the Kennebec County town across the river from Waterville. “Winslow has a series of restaurants, but I think there’s room for another.”

The Two Cent Pub, as it will be called, could be Winslow’s fourth restaurant with a liquor license — pending the Town Council’s approval — according to Code Enforcement Officer Adam Bradstreet. The other alcohol-serving options in town include The Pointe Afta, The Lucky Panda and Asian Cafe, Bradstreet noted. The Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Winslow also has a liquor license.

McIntire has already secured a building permit and a plumbing permit and is in the process of obtaining an electrical permit, Bradstreet said. The Clinton Avenue site is busy with activity, and will be through the winter, McIntire said. The goal is to open to the public by April.

McIntire, an Alna resident, said he plans to serve fare similar to what is dished up at The Old Goat Pub, starting small with a few reliable menu items like pizza, panninis, quesadillas, sausages, salads and, of course, a large bottle and draft beer selection. The Old Goat offers 100 different beers, nine ciders and 12 wines, according to its Facebook page.

“We’ll take off from there and grow the menu based on what people like,” he explained, adding that he wants the two restaurants to be different.

Scott McIntire is looking forward to opening The Two Cent Pub at 82 Clinton Ave. in Winslow. McIntire is seen Monday outside the building, which was being remodeled. Morning Sentinel photo by Rich Abrahamson Buy this Photo

All hot food will be either oven-baked or pannini-pressed, as there is no fryolator, McIntire said. While he said there is no one specialty, McIntire boasted house-made sauces and a sausage selection he personally curates from his favorite retailers in Milwaukee, Chicago, Texas and elsewhere.

Once completed, the roughly 1,100-square-foot space will seat 42 diners among seven tables and a bar. That’s roughly the same as The Old Goat, McIntire said.

“There will be a lot of glass, hard wood floors, a big kitchen and we just bought some heat pumps, so it’s energy-efficient,” McIntire said. The color scheme will be “warm” not dark, McIntire added, and in the summer, the restaurant will open up a patio.

The Two Cent Pub gets its name from the nearby Two Cent Bridge, a walking bridge that connects Winslow to Waterville above the Kennebec River.

Scott McIntire is looking forward to opening the Two Cent Pub at 82 Clinton Ave. in Winslow. McIntire is seen Monday with the building’s historic edge and center bead ceiling, which is being restored. The building is the former home of It’s a Good Pizza. Morning Sentinel photo by Rich Abrahamson Buy this Photo

“I figured if you have a Two Cent Bridge, you can have a Two Cent Pub,” McIntire said.

McIntire said he knows he has big shoes to fill by replacing It’s A Good Pizza, which had been a staple of the Winslow community for more than 40 years.

“People are sad to see the pizza place go, but I think they’ll like what we have to offer,” he said. “I’ve met a few people in town and the response seems to be optimistic.”

McIntire closed on the sale of the building in July at a price of $75,000. The property had been foreclosed on. The owners of It’s A Good Pizza declined multiple attempts for an interview last year when the family business closed its doors.

While McIntire said it has been “a long time since I’ve been around here,” he is no stranger to the Waterville area. The Alna resident graduated from Colby College in 1981.

“When I left school, I went into the Marine Corps, then moved to Boston for a while, then Florida,” he said. He moved back to Maine 20 years ago.

In addition to owning The Old Goat Pub in Richmond, McIntire owns a building in Bowdoinham that he leases to the Three Robbers Pub. He said he fell into the restaurant business after working out-of-state for printing and software companies.

“When I moved to Maine, I was unemployed for three years,” McIntire said. While he worked odd jobs, including as a substitute teacher, he realized that “if I didn’t do something really soon, I was going to lose my house.”

So he went to the bank and talked about financing The Old Goat Pub.

Darryl Sterling, director of community and business development in Richmond, said that the opening of The Old Goat in 2004 was monumental for the town.

“That was the first new business when we launched the Richmond downtown revitalization program,” Sterling said. “Scott renovated the former Northeast Bank building and rehabbed it inside and out. He did a fantastic job.”

Frank Lizzotte walks past the kitchen of The Two Cent Pub while roughing in plumbing Monday at the restaurant at 82 Clinton Ave. in Winslow. The building is the former home of It’s A Good Pizza. Morning Sentinel photo by Rich Abrahamson Buy this Photo

McIntire worked with the town to use tax increment financing and secured a building facade grant with the help of Sterling. Since then, The Old Goat Pub has opened a banquet room above its dining space and now hosts live entertainment from open mic nights to chili cook-offs for charity. Sterling, who was the former executive director of the Waterville-based Central Maine Growth Council, said he is “really happy” to hear that McIntire is expanding into Winslow and expects a positive impact on the area.

“Scott is very engaged in the community,” Sterling said. “He sponsors a lot of events and really works well with the community. He’s an asset for sure. A lot of people who live here 12 months a year are loyal customers at The Old Goat Pub, but it’s also a destination. People come from miles away to go to The Old Goat Pub, and that speaks volumes when you’re trying to get people downtown.”

The development of McIntire’s Clinton Avenue bar and restaurant comes on the heels of another Winslow restaurant opening just half a mile away. Chris Duffy, also a military veteran, is turning the Lobster Trap & Steakhouse at 21 Bay St. into a cannabidiol-focused restaurant. That restaurant — to be called Brickhouse Cannabis Co. — is due to open at the end of the month or in January, Duffy told the Morning Sentinel. It will also serve food that is not infused with the cannabis-based ingredient, which has a range of purported health benefits.