WATERVILLE — About 25 people are out of work after the Weathervane Restaurant on Kennedy Memorial Drive was closed by its corporate parent on Monday.
The restaurant is among four Weathervanes that are closing, according to a statement from parent company Weathervane Seafoods, based in Kittery.
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The company statement said restaurants in Waterville, Brewer, South Portland and Bedford, N.H., were recently closed as a result of current economic conditions.
“The final ending is certainly a shock,” said Waterville General Manager Sean Callahan Monday. “Was the writing on the wall? Certainly.”
“We had a really good staff here and I feel awful for them,” he said. “I know they will all land on their feet, though. They are all hard-working people.”
The Waterville restaurant employees were notified on Sunday that the restaurant would not be staying open.
Callahan said he hopes to work at the company’s Belfast restaurant, which is seasonal, when it opens in the spring. He has managed the Waterville restaurant for five years.
“It’s been going downhill every year,” he said.
Outside the restaurant Monday, a sign was posted in the window stating that “due to current economic conditions, this location is closed” and directed patrons to a website for other locations. As would-be patrons pulled into the parking lot during the lunch hours, employees of the chain worked to load a rental truck to remove the food remaining in the store.
“My family and I are sorry to have to make this difficult decision,” company CEO Jeremy Gagner said in a statement. “We truly appreciate the hard work provided by our staffs and thank each of them for their dedication.”
The Waterville restaurant opened in 1986, in a building that formerly housed the Silent Woman restaurant, a long-time local landmark that closed in September 1986.
According to its website, the company operated 14 restaurants, 11 under the Weathervane name, at the time of Monday’s closings.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
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