The Mill at Freedom Falls, site of The Lost Kitchen.
[dropcap]The[/dropcap] other day I came across the following article about a fine dining establishment called The Lost Kitchen located in the Mill at Freedom Falls, Freedom Maine. I decided to post the article here as an example of how a well thought-out and executed development plan can lead to a wonderful local resource that enriches both the town and the lives of the people that visit it. When juxtaposed with our own Clary Water Mill, it allows us to see just how badly Paul Kelley and his partner Richard Smith botched their own attempted development project. While it is to their credit that these two men saw the historic beauty of the old Clary water mill site and recognized it’s nascent development potential, it is unfortunate that they failed to come up with a viable plan to develop it. It is even more regrettable that they chose to blame their failure not on themselves and their ill-conceived plans but instead on the Town of Whitefield and the Clary Lake Association, and to take their revenge against Clary Lake itself and the People of the State of Maine. Why would they try to destroy that which gives their property it’s value?
Enough of that. Please check out the article. I intend to visit the Mill at Freedom Falls this summer, and to dine at the Lost Kitchen:
This Remote Restaurant In Maine Will Take You A Million Miles Away From Everything
There are actually 2 stories here. One is about The Lost Kitchen and the other is about the old mill building that houses it. There is a great site documenting the history of that structure, and it’s restoration:
I think you can forget about eating there as reservations for the whole season opened at midnight April 15 at midnight…and were overwhelmed by 15000 requests. Maybe next year.
Heh! You and a few other people have said the same thing. Reservations currently looking at 2018. Also appears to be rather expensive… no I’m not big on eating out to begin with, and when I do I rarely head for the most expensive place I can find. Oh well! I will still visit the place soon to check out the mill and dam. Expect pictures.
After reading about The Lost Kitchen and the restoration of the Freedom Falls Grist Mill, imagine what life on Clary Lake might be like now if a competent and conscientious developer had gotten their hands on the Clary mill.
We’ve eaten there, and it’s pretty dam(n) good. But I think you’ll find a tour through the mill enlightening. Of course, the whole project involved more than $1M…which I think is a little more than PPM/AFA has or ever had available.
So I’ll take the tour and skip the dinner. As for Kelley and Smith, lack of financing wasn’t their problem.
I’m thinking they have no souls?
I think I’ll just leave this one alone.