Michelin two-star restaurateur Ryan McCaskey returns to his stomping grounds of Stonington to launch Acadia House Provisions.

by Diane Hudson

Food buzz nationwide (Forbes, The Michelin Guide, The Boston Globe) has been touting the stunning tidbit that two-Michelin-starred restaurateur/chef Ryan McCaskey has opened a sister restaurant to Chicago’s acclaimed Acadia in the tiny town of Stonington.

Now that the first season of McCaskey’s debut of the seasonal Acadia House Provisions is in full swing (closing on Indigenous Peoples’ Day weekend), I stop by to see how his long-held dream of opening a restaurant in Maine is faring in practice.

“I’ve been coming to Deer Isle for 35 years,” McCaskey says. “Still, I’m not one of them. I don’t want to alienate anyone, so it’s important to get things right. Move in slowly.”

And slowly he goes—right from the get-go. He had a hundred people booked for opening night. Three times. The first two opening nights had to be cancelled. “It’s just taking a lot to get this thing off the ground.”

When you’re charting your course toward perfect (his work at Acadia garnered a Michelin star after only nine months of operating, and two stars four years later), you need to take the helm with a sure hand, continuing to move forward, addressing each challenge as it comes to light.

“The most difficult issue, and we’re not alone in this, is staffing. We brought staff from Chicago, and there is a huge cultural adjustment. They’re not used to living on an island. There is a need to carry themselves in a certain way, as they are representing the restaurant in this small community. The locals love working with us, but when they were putting in ten-hour days, the parents were not happy. We’ve had to do a lot of juggling with this.

“Then there’s the small stuff, like building issues. This space was never intended to be for what we’re doing. We had to adjust, change for what is here. Like when we put in lighting, we had this flickering. We just need to do more work, find the right combination for it all. For the most part I’m pleased. Every week, we get a little bit better.” And with a ten-year lease in tow, McCaskey has a good many weeks to reach the perfection he traditionally seeks and maintains.

Two years into the Acadia venture in Chicago, McCaskey started thinking about the current project. “Our numbers really drop off in Chicago in the summer. People are going to festivals, outside entertainment. In fact, we shut down completely for our summer break.” That’s when the chef, for the past five years, brings 16-25 members of his Acadia staff to Deer Isle for the classic summer Maine experience, including a traditional lobster bake on the beach.

“So Acadia House Provisions is a good revenue booster. We’re booked through the season, doing an average of 200 people a day. There are 26 reserved seats upstairs, and walk-ins are accommodated by 32 seats on the patio, seven at the bar and eight in a little lounge area.

“The reception has been very good. We get about equal amounts of locals and tourists, just what I’d hoped for. And we have regular diners who come for both lunch and dinner. The price point is exactly where I thought it should be—very different from Chicago where the average is $300 to $400 compared to $40 to $45 here. But in Chicago, because of the Michelin stars, we get a lot of international diners. All they do is go to restaurants and write and blog about it. But with summer people, it’s different.”

For McCaskey, the balance between cooking styles at both venues is rewarding. “We are coming from the same culture, using the same technique and integrity that you see in Chicago. The Maine style is chef-driven, simple food, good chicken and vegetables, halibut in a stew. It’s food people can wrap their heads around while saying, ‘Wow, these chefs have a high pedigree of cooking.’ It’s just a little on the simpler side. It gives me great pleasure to stretch my creative muscles out in these two ways to make people happy.” And the most popular entrees so far? “Seafood, anything seafood. It’s crazy. Weekly, we easily go through hundreds of pounds of oysters, mussels, 200 pounds of lobster, halibut.”

On this season’s menu, McCaskey says, “We have introduced an heirloom tomato salad, a great first course with a glass of bubbly on the deck. And flatbread. I wanted to see how it would sell, as kind of a preview to pizza on the patio next year. It’s garlic oil, prosciutto, provolone cheese, crimini mushrooms, summer truffles, and Four Seasons Farm’s arugula.”

As for comparing his life this summer to his many years visiting Deer Isle? “My whole life I have loved it. My childhood was hanging out in the kitchen at Goose Cove Lodge, the tidal pools, dating, playing, and just being here. Maybe that is a romanticized version, but I was looking at it from that perspective. It’s not the same, living here as a businessman. It’s different from how I remembered it. It’s adjusting to what is out there. I want us all to thrive, to be creative. I’m super glad we did it.

“The other night I just sat on my porch (at his summer home on Burnt Cove) and played acoustic guitar. I was here. I tried to absorb it. I just sat, decompressing and remembering the things I really love about being here.” That same evening, most likely diners at Acadia House Provisions were celebrating the newest of the things they love about being here.