Originally a simple dining room within the historic Craignair Inn, The Causeway has become one of the premier dining establishments in mid-coast Maine. When the new owners decided to create an elevated dining experience for this space, they brought us in to realize their vision of a friendly, casual space serving craft cocktails, a robust wine and beer selection and creative local fare. With just 6 weeks to open, and under the strict guidelines of the hospitality rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, we turned the tired dining room into a dining destination.
The actual causeway connects the mainland to Clark Island, where granite was quarried for decades. We looked to this industrial past for our graphic reference, pulling old typography and lettering from state directories printed the year of its construction, and designing a menu system around found stonecutters invoices.
The single biggest change was the addition of a bar. Now, guests have a place to gather for a cocktail or informal meal. But the best part is the bar window. Situated as so, the end of the bar becomes an outdoor counter where guests can order from outdoors. This proved to be an enormously successful change and gave guests more ways to enjoy a drink or snack, not to mention gave the restaurant additional income. We affectionately call this the Clark Bar, and it deserved a look of its own.
Property photography: Lauryn Sophia
