Hideway internet cafe is planning for EV charging stations as early as June. Stephanie Dellavalle

RANGELEY — Electric vehicles (EV) will have a new and fast option for electrical vehicle chargers before next summer according to Stephanie Chee Barea, co-owner with husband Adam Barea of the Hideaway internet cafe in downtown Rangeley.

“When we first had the plans for the Hideaway, the original site plan, we had considered putting in some EV chargers,” said Chee Barea.

At the time, Chee Barea said they found it cost prohibitive, but since then, they have been approached by Revision Energy and decided to proceed with a plan for installing them by next summer.

“They do a lot of contract work for the state, and they have a number of bids that they then put in for state and federal funding, and they approached us about installing and running high speed electric vehicle chargers,” said Chee Barea, adding “The town said they were not interested in putting any on their property, but they wrote a letter of support for any private business that wanted to do it. And there’s no high-speed charging station between basically Augusta and the New Hampshire border,” said Chee Barea, clarifying that while EV chargers are at the (former) Red Onion and Saddleback, they are not nearly as fast.

“It’s designed for that reason because you don’t expect skiers to just be in and out in half an hour versus at a coffee shop,” Said Chee Barea. “Basically, the Mountain (Saddleback) chargers are meant to charge your vehicle when you’re skiing there all day, not in like 20 minutes,” explained Chee Barea, additionally clarifying, “Depending on the car that you have, because different cars charge at different rates (20-40 minutes) to be at full charge.

Similar to fast and slow internet options the rate of delivery is depending on intended use. She offered the example that if charging at Saddleback, you are probably expecting to park and charge for a longer period, which is fine if you’re skiing, but not if you’re simply traveling and need to get right back on the road.

Stephanie Chee Barea at the site of future EV charging station parking spots in front of her internet cafe, the Hideaway. Stephanie Dellavalle

Chee Barea summed up, “We’re basically like a gas station. That’s basically what it is. You stop, you get fueled up.”

Chee Barea is familiar with EV chargers as she grew up in and still resides for part of the year on the west coast, in the San Francisco Bay Area, where there are more electric vehicles.

“Yes, in California there are EV chargers in supermarkets or there’s even EV chargers at Burger King,” said Chee Barea.

Chee Barea observed the growth in the need for EV chargers, not only in California but Montreal, and now in western Maine.

“Last summer, sitting on the patio, where you get to kind of see everything happening on Main Street, we saw maybe one electric vehicle a day. This summer there’s lots more Teslas, the Rivians and then the Ford F-150 has an electric version that I’ve seen in town. So, I’m seeing multiple ones a day,” said Chee Barea.

Chee Barea believes it will help travelers save time with a quick charge and additionally alleviate the stress of mapping a route off the path of intended travel.

She also expects the Hideaway will benefit from increased internet café drop-ins.

Site designs are back, and the plan is to break ground in the spring with construction time of roughly two weeks.

“Summer of  ’25 will be up and running, and we’ll have two dedicated spaces for vehicles in our parking lot and then one optional. So as many as three cars could charge,” said Chee Barea.

Chee Barea believes electric vehicles aren’t just a passing trend, and that the high-speed charging stations will serve an increasing amount of both tourists and locals.

“It’s the way it’s moving,” said Chee Barea.