Three Tides flowing along Belfast’s waterfront

Story and photos by Mary Ruoff

Even before Three Tides opened on Belfast’s waterfront, a downtown promotional brochure helped build buzz: “Waterfront bar serving wine, beer, cocktails and food. Sit at harbor view bar or alongside boats on deck. Open fall 2002.” The first customers didn’t flow through the doors until August 2003, but it’s easy to forgive the young owners of this hip watering hole for the delay.

Sarah and David Carlson did most of the renovation work on the 1800s former boat repair building that houses Three Tides, persevering despite regulatory hurdles that would have left even seasoned property developers shaking their heads. Site constraints and the structure’s narrow shape compounded those challenges, which they confronted while operating the small lobster pound they opened two years ago in the weathered, shingled building next door. Sarah, 29, and David, 34, also tied the knot.

Sarah and David Carlson, left, outside the pound with lobsters in hand.

“David and I have always believed in this project,” said Sarah. “We know we’re going to be successful. I think it already is.” There was nothing boastful in her tone, just passionate commitment.

Added David, “We both have worked for a lot of places. We saw things we liked and didn’t like. This was a chance to put our money where our mouth is.”

The couple checked out possible pub sites in southern and western Maine and Wyoming, where they lived for a time. They settled on Belfast because they loved both the town, where David had done some contracting work and has family, and the dilapidated building they painstakingly transformed.

The stairs and ramp, mark the entrance to Three Tides,
a hip new bar on Belfast’s waterfront. The “Lobster” sign points to the lobster pound next door, which Three Tides owners David and Sarah Carlson opened two years ago as a steppingstone to their dream of operating a bar “they’d like to go to.”

The Carlsons, who lease the structure, were drawn to its character and locale—and saw beyond its drawbacks. Tucked among its neighbors and set back from Front Street, the property is somewhat hidden from the street and shares an access with neighboring businesses. But being off the beaten path can create a mystique, Sarah noted. The waterfront is always a magnet, and the deck approximately doubles the floor space. Outdoor heaters and wind-blocking hay bales are extending its use in the cool weather.
A “Lobsters” sign juts beside the roof, which pokes above its neighbors, though not only because it’s steeply pitched. The Carlsons raised the building eight-and-a-half feet to comply with federal flood zone regulations—making it the first renovation project on the Belfast waterfront to do so. That’s because the requirement doesn’t kick in unless project costs are 50 percent or more than a building’s value. Since the structure (not the real estate beneath it) was worth a mere $7,000, the threshold wasn’t hard to meet. By comparison, the vacant Stinson Seafood buildings for sale down the road are valued at $1.2 million.

Flood plain rules weren’t the only regulatory hurdle that washed ashore. Raising the building, which was turned to better fit the footprint, made installing a disability ramp seem impossible. A higher entrance requires a longer ramp and more landings, and there wasn’t a lot of space between the lobster pound and the deck, which sits back slightly from the water. For a while, it looked like the couple would have to install an $18,000 lift to comply with handicapped accessibility laws. But David kept at it, coming up with a design after seeking help from an Americans with Disabilities Act Technical Assistance Program (800-949-4232).

“They’ve done as good a job as possible to incorporate that ramp into the design layout. It fits in really well,” said Wayne Marshall, Belfast’s director of planning and community development. The ramp literally meshes into its surroundings, with lobster-trap wire instead of railings and thick posts like the nearby piers. The able-bodied also enjoy using it, especially seniors.

Three Tides did get some regulatory breaks. With public parking nearby, the city waived the parking requirement (the bar has three spaces vs. the required 22), as it’s done for other waterfront businesses. Several building permit changes, like a larger deck, were approved as the project moved forward. The idea for a side addition that houses restrooms came up during the city’s informal design review process, which such projects must go through, though the review committee can’t mandate changes.

“I think they worked really hard to address a lot of issues that were raised,” said Marshall. “They dealt with a property that has severe, severe constraints.”

“Blackbeard” greets customers outside the building, which is sided with both clapboard and shingles. The bearish pirate, which the Carlsons bought at last year’s Belfast Bearfast charity auction, is a friendly sort, with a lobster slung over his shoulder and a tropical shirt. Just beyond, stairs and the ramp lead to a porch-like space that opens to the deck.

When I visited for the first time, good vibes floated with the breeze as my husband and I sipped lemon-colored beer on a warm summer night. A sail covering most of the deck protected us from a gentle rain. Gently worn creamy white and beige lampshades—the sort you can no longer use but hate to throw out—cover strings of lights and cast a warming yellow glow. My husband was aglow at the choice of draft beer.

On an afternoon visit, I ran into friends who raved about Belfast’s hot new pub. “I think the popularity of this place will be huge,” said Tom Andrews of Searsmont, nibbling from a $2 cornbread basket. “Just sitting here and watching the sailboats is great.” The view isn’t expansive, but you can see across the harbor.

From the 40-seat interior, a long window looks out on the deck to the water beyond. Flower-filled tin cans on the tables accent the walls, which juxtapose corrugated metal and unfinished wood. Ship knees, some of which came with the building, brace the room. Buying used restaurant equipment, including the mod ochre-colored booths, freed up money for special touches like industrial wall lights more commonly seen on ships. The most striking feature is the curving, sculpture-like concrete bar the couple designed and built. The lack of promotional clocks and coasters was a conscious choice. No chips here, but customers can help themselves to hard-boiled eggs.

Belfast resident Sue Woehler likes Three Tides’ “sense of community” and the fact that it’s family run. “The atmosphere is wonderful,” she added. “It’s a very relaxing place.” Plans for the establishment evolved as the Carlsons bounced ideas off lobster pound customers, who lobbied for a deck. “Our biggest asset is that Sarah and I are very attentive and onsite,” said David. “We can change ... what we do in a day.”

Now the couple is refining the “tastings” menu to meet the demand for food, which has been much larger than expected. Fresh ingredients are used, and there’s no fried fare. One day, the chalkboard outside touts three-cheese lobster pizettes, on another, quesadillas. Lobster, of course, is one of the regular items. A “lite brunch” is served all day Sunday. The kitchen is small, however, and they want Three Tides to remain a bar that serves food, not a restaurant that serves drinks.

Business has been strong, and not only because Three Tides opened in time to catch summer residents and tourists. Many local residents have told the Carlsons they didn’t go out much at night because there wasn’t a bar in town that appealed to them—until now. “As an entrepreneur, you get to do something yourself and have it come together,” said David. “That’s the best compliment anyone can give —to be enjoying yourself in our space.”

The view from the deck at Three Tides, a new Belfast bar that serves lobster and light fare.

Both Mainers—he’s from New Sweden, she’s from Winslow—they met while living in Orono, where they earned degrees—she in education, he in studio art—from the University of Maine. The couple, who plan to move into living space they constructed above the bar, start work at the lobster pound in the late morning and manage the bar into the night. Initially open seven days, they soon realized they needed a day off and are now closed Mondays (the bar is open 4 p.m. to close Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.)

Sure, their schedule is exhausting, but they know they won’t be in the start-up phase forever. Besides, they’re living their dream of running a bar “they’d like to go to.” As David noted, “That’s always been our focus—to get this bar off the ground. The lobster pound has always been an aside.”

The couple built the pound’s pier, where three lobstermen moor in exchange for selling their catch exclusively to the Carlsons. The pound, also in rented space, hasn’t been heavily promoted, since it’s not in the market to expand its catch and always aimed to supply Three Tides. Pound customers, who’ve been talking up the new bar, buy takeout or eat at picnic tables in the gravel yard, where lobsters and clams steam in pots. The pound is nothing fancy—just a testament to the fact that Belfast has a working waterfront, even as stores and restaurants dock there.

Nearby, signs on a newly renovated wharf building advertise for office tenants. The Lookout Pub, which also serves food and has a popular dance floor, opened last year along Front Street in front of Three Tides. The Carlsons see any competition as an asset: “It brings people down here and gets people walking back and forth.”

FMI: Three Tides is located at 2 Pinchy Lane, Belfast; call 338.1707, or visit www.3tides.com.

Mary Ruoff is a freelance writer in Belfast and can be be reached at <mruoff@adelphia.net>.