Schooner Landing in Damariscotta re-opened over the holiday weekend in a limited capacity, operating, temporarily, out of a food trailer. 

The popular restaurant, and the pier it sat on, burned down last September. With community support and fundraising efforts, it’s now able to operate for the summer season. Construction on a new bricks and mortar restaurant is scheduled to begin next fall. 

The restaurant was located at the Damariscotta Marina, with an outdoor seating area on a pier that looked out over the Damariscotta river.

Owners Scott Folsom and Caleb Jones hoped to open the food trailer on Memorial Day, but work on rebuilding the pier, specifically the deck,  pushed back the opening date. “We may have been a little too hopeful about opening for Memorial Day weekend,” the restaurant wrote on its Instagram account in late May.

By early July, the debris from the fire had been cleared and the new pier completed, laying the foundation for the eventual Schooner Landing building. 

“Thank you for joining us for our (not so soft) opening. Thank you for your flowers, hugs, words of support and kindness, and patience and willingness to stand in line,” the owners wrote on Instagram last Wednesday. 

That day the Scotti River Trio performed on the deck, and the following day, the Bob Cowell Duo played to celebrate the Fourth of July. 

For the rest of the summer, hours will be Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. for drinks only and noon to 2:30 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. with food, as well. Folsom and Jones plan to stay open in the trailer until mid-October.