By Carol Coultas,Business Writer
After fire, popular Italian restaurant regroups, serves customers in new digs.

LEWISTON – Co-owner Duane Arnold is pleased with what he’s seen in the two months Marco’s restaurant has been open at its new location.

Long-standing customers, new walk-in clientele and lots of sales have doubled the business they did in their downtown location.

“It’s beat our projections,” said Arnold. “If things stay this way, we’ll be very happy.”

Marco’s opened in the Fairgrounds Business Park in mid-January after a year-and-a-half hiatus following a July 2004 fire at its home on Lisbon Street. The fire destroyed the restaurant, which had been serving diners since 1978.

Arnold and his partner, Steve Taylor, were committed to reopening Marco’s, but where proved to be a challenge. They considered several downtown locations, but each was unsuitable because of space or cost, Arnold said.

Then they took a look at the former CarTest building on Mollison Way. The nondescript concrete building had big garage bays and functional offices, built in anticipation of a statewide emissions testing program that never happened. A couple of local businesses were leasing office space in the 8,000-square-foot building.

Arnold said it took him and Taylor about a month to decide to buy the building and recreate Marco’s. They sank $1.3 million into it – converting it from its utilitarian beginnings to a warm and inviting restaurant.

Regular patrons will notice a few holdovers from the previous location. The gondola wine display sits in a corner of the new lobby and the swirly, scripted “M” logo adorns a wall. If you look closely, the statue of David above the buffet has a cracked rib from a fall sustained during the fire.

But nearly everything else is new – an intentional decision to upgrade the restaurant to keep pace with chain competitors. Mahogany chairs and booths play off sand- and maroon-colored walls, accented with classic paintings and sculptures. The vaulted ceiling in the main dining area draws the eye up toward the artwork and Empire style lighting. Each table is covered in a white linen tablecloth, anchored with a bottle of seasoned olive oil. And the garage bays were converted into 12-by-14-foot windows, suffusing the restaurant with natural light.

“We knew competition was coming around,” said Arnold. “So we wanted to offer the best atmosphere with very competitive prices.”

The restaurant still offers its popular $7.99 buffet and most of the previous menu selections. Veal chops, from Amish-raised livestock, is a new item and one of the pricier entrees at $16.99. But there are several pasta dishes in the $11 range, with beef, seafood and chicken options rounding out the fare and the price spectrum.

Arnold said they didn’t increase their prices, except where absolutely necessary, to cover the new overhead. He describes the restaurant as “casual, upscale” but wanted to keep the prices moderate for local diners.

So far, it’s worked. Besides seeing overall sales double, he said walk-in business has risen to 70 percent of the business versus 50 percent at the downtown location. Banquet functions make up the rest.

The new restaurant has two separate banquet rooms: one accommodates between 30 and 40 people and the other, 90. Arnold said both have bookings into December right now.

And there are plans for future expansion. Arnold said they’d like to put in some alfresco seating outside and eventually develop some of the parcel for outdoor, tented functions like weddings.

But first he needs to hire a couple more people to give him and Taylor a break in the kitchen. They both work Monday through Saturday, overseeing the kitchen and staff of 35. For Arnold, who’s worked at the restaurant since he was 15, it’s been gratifying to see its new version take off.

“When I come in here, I feel like it’s the old and the new,” he said. “I hope when customers come in, they realize it’s a place where people really care.”