Those sinful-looking blueberry pancakes, and that nice, noisy foamy latte – would you believe they are rescuing journalism, in and around Camden, Maine, at least?
Here in lobster country, at the Villager Cafe, customers can have their breakfast or lunch with a side of news, a weekly newspaper called the Midcoast Villager. “I was just reading about the SNAP benefits and different food pantries in the area,” said one cafe customer.
The cafe subsidizes the paper; the newsroom is one floor up. Throw in the rent from all the other tenants in the building, along with revenue from the Inn at Camden Place next door (same ownership), and it all helps.
“From the business standpoint, it achieves a sustainability,” said Reade Brower. At one time, Brower owned almost all of Maine’s newspapers, before selling most of them off. In September 2024, he merged four weeklies into the Midcoast Villager. The cafe opened this past April, but not just to make money.
“The accountability issues and local sports and all that stuff is important to a lot of people,” he said. “I don’t think that’s enough to sell and keep newspapers alive right now. I think it has to revolve around community. And what better way to serve community than to invite people here for food and to mix all this stuff together?”
How often do you see the owner of a newspaper, and members of his staff, hanging out with readers over breakfast?
Kathleen Capetta helps Brower run what they both see as an experiment in rebuilding trust in news. “We’re present, we’re visible, we’re real,” she said. “We’re not behind a screen.”
And would that experiment work if the food weren’t good? “Absolutely not, no!” Capetta laughed.
“It’s good, classic diner food, but a little bit elevated, which is I think kind of like our paper,” said deputy editor Alex Seitz-Wald. He is the face of the newspaper when he parks himself in the cafe on Friday mornings, to hear complaints, story tips, whatever. “Having a place where people can vent, or can say something, and have it be heard, I think is really valuable,” he said.
Seitz-Wald was an NBC politics reporter in Washington, D.C., for a decade before taking a chance – and a pay cut – to work for the Midcoast Villager, a start-up in a field where two newspapers die every week.
How’s the Villager doing? Circulation revenue, we’re told, is 40% above what all four papers it replaced took in – so, promising.
“I’m quite glad that I still have a newspaper to work for,” said Glenn Billington. A local news lifer, he’s the optimistic ad salesman and columnist for the Midcoast Villager, just as he was for one of its now-defunct predecessors.
The mascot on the paper’s masthead is Vern, who is the epitome of Midcoast Maine. “He sure is,” said Billington. “Look at his sou’wester. He’s got the hat that you wear when the wind blows from the southwest and it brings rain. And he’s got the telescope. Vern’s looking at the future of newspapers.”
What one sees at the Villager Cafe is old-fashioned – people sitting down at tables, eating and talking and looking at each other eye-to-eye. Or as Brower put it, “You’re picking up what we’re putting down.”
RECIPE: Maine Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Compote, from the Villager Cafe
RECIPE: Haddock Hash, from the Villager Cafe
RECIPE: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup, from The Villager Cafe
For more menu suggestions check out the “Sunday Morning” 2025 “Food Issue” recipe index
For more info:
Story produced by Jack Weingart. Editor: Ed Givnish.
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The recent rain in Maine is easing the drought that parts of the state have been experiencing since the fall.
Scott Dean, a Spectrum meteorologist, said much of Maine has been at least “dry” for several months. Parts of the state, including Portland, Bangor and Bar Harbor, are under a “moderate” drought.
Much of the country is also experiencing a drought, Dean added. The Southeast is seeing extreme levels of drought, and the West coast has been under a drought for years. There are many factors that go into this, including climate change, weather patterns like El Niño and La Niña and other factors.
And, when an area does experience drought, it can become a feedback loop. With less moisture in the ground and atmosphere, the drought can “feed upon itself,” Dean said.
“It takes a while to get into a drought and it also takes a while to get out of one,” Dean said.
But, the rainy days in Maine have been alleviating the drought, Dean said. And, the trend is likely to continue — the forecast is predicting above average levels of precipitation for the next three to four weeks.
“Hopefully, we are continuing to head in the right direction as the drought has eased in these areas,” Dean said.
In fact, if these rains do continue, Maine could come out of the drought sometime this summer.
Craig Joseph Ahlemeyer
STANDISH – Craig J. Ahlemeyer, 48 of Standish, passed away unexpectedly, Saturday, June 13, 2026.A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, June 27 th at Standish Congregational Church, 25 Oak Hill Road in Standish. A reception will follow.To see Craig’s full obituary, share a memory or leave the family an online condolence, please visit http://www.athutchins.com.
“Do you ever think we could find some woods to walk in?” my outdoorsy 12-year-old asks me, every now and again. As a kid growing up in New York City, Anton appreciates all the skate parks and bagel shops, but he also really craves nature, like in his bones.
So, when school got out, I offered to take him for a weekend in Maine, a place with not only woods but also lakes and rocks and periwinkles that come out of their shells when you hum. We were both really excited.
The first night, we were lucky enough to snag a room at Aragosta, a beautiful small hotel in Deer Isle that Alison had recommended.
The chef-owner, Devin Finigan, is famous for her seasonal tasting menus, but we focused on the breakfast that came with the room, including these Maine blueberry pancakes. I don’t even usually like pancakes and these blew my mind.
We also played a LOT of chess on our little travel board.
After breakfast, we set out to hike up Blue Hill Mountain.
Here’s the summit!
In the afternoon, we explored the charming fishing village of Stonington…
…then joined my friend Julie (of Rudy Jude fame) and her family for dinner at the Burnt Cove Boil.
Basically, a crab gets plonked down in front of you, followed by a corn on the cob, then a lobster, then a classic ice-cream sandwich. Julie and her husband Anthony taught us how to get all the meat out. (Their kids were already pros.)
Afterward, the four boys scrambled around on the rocks, while the adults chatted. It’s always such a treat to hang out with people who live in the place you’re visiting, don’t you think? Julie and Anthony described how they brought their recently hatched chicks into their home to keep them warm, and all the peeping was sooooo loud — and then a cricket got into the house and added to the noise and no one could find it and everyone was going nuts, haha. Very different from city life!
The next day, Anton and I stayed at the lovely Asticou Hotel near Acadia National Park.
We drove to a couple trailheads but they were PACKED — you had to stand in a long line, just to start the hike! Luckily, we found a quieter area and took a long walk around Jordan Pond, playing Would You Rather and Categories along the way. Do you have any favorite travel games?
Finally, we skimmed stones on our last afternoon before heading back to Brooklyn.
Epic travel buddy
Oh, Maine, what a magical place! Not pictured, of course: traffic, grumpy preteen moments, locking our keys in the rental car, etc., but all that’s to be expected.
Have you been to Maine? Do you live there? What parts do you love? Any pro tips? I’d love to hear. xoxo
P.S. Our Maine trip — and another amazing hotel — when the boys were much younger, and a Maine home with a bedroom looking over water.
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