Popular Maine Restaurant Chain Has Officially Been Sold as Owner Prepares For Retirement

Maine is fortunate to have hundreds of locally owned restaurants spread out all around the Pine Tree State. And, in some cases, those restaurants are even based on a franchise model.

Take for example the incredibly popular Maine-chain Governor's Restaurant & Bakery, which has been around for more than 60 years (crazy right?!).

The restaurant and bakery has several locations throughout Maine including Stillwater Avenue in Old Town, Broadway in Bangor, Main Street in Waterville, High Street in Ellsworth, Lisbon Street in Lewiston, and an independently owned location on Main Street in Presque Isle.

According to WABI TV 5, the current owner of the popular Maine eatery, Randy Wadleigh, is going to be retiring from Governor's after 35 years of leading the business.

Fortunately, it will not mean the end for the restaurant.

According to the news station, Wadleigh is going to be selling (or has already sold) the chain to longtime Governor's staff member, Jason Clay. It's reported that Jason has worked for the business for more than 17 years in a variety of roles, most recently working as the restaurant's Director of Operations.

WABI reports that the new owner will be officially taking the reigns at the end of May. Channel 5 had this quote from the soon-to-be new owner, Jason Clay;

“It is a great honor for me to shepherd a brand that has such a great Maine tradition and history. The fact that Randy and Leith & Donna [Wadleigh’s parents, founders of Governor’s] trust me to lead their business weighs very heavily on me. What an unbelievable opportunity. Change is inevitable. But changing just for the sake of change doesn’t make sense. While I’m sure that some things will be different when the transition happens, we have a great concept with great people. We’ll continue to follow this path and build on what Governor’s has been all about for the past 63 years.”