York Beach Nevada motel reborn: Iconic landmark reopens with modern makeover

YORK, Maine — Joe Lipton walked along his newly renovated Nevada Motel with its third-story addition as a neighbor called from her deck to give him well wishes.

“It’s been great, everybody’s happy,” Lipton yells back to the woman, who hollered in response she has “watched the whole process” of revitalizing the 1950s-era motel.

“That’s what it’s been like this whole time,” Lipton said, having just completed the project after two years of planning and construction. “Everybody walking by, so happy we did what we did.”

The Nevada’s website went live Monday, offering 21 rooms overlooking Long Sands Beach. The motel includes York’s newest tiki restaurant, Lulu’s, which will soon be open to more than just hotel guests.

The project brings the original Nevada Motel back to life after it was sold by the family of its original owner, Henry de la Pena, who opened the hotel in 1951. Lipton and his wife, Michelle Friar, maintained the building’s shape, imitating the flybridge of a battleship like the one on which de la Pena served.

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What’s new at the Nevada Motel at Long Sands Beach?

New are the modern amenities added by Lipton and Friar, as well as a raising of the first floor and a new interior for access to the second and third-floor rooms rather from the outside like a traditional motel. Rooms have also been made more spacious because of the third-story expansion, allowing each unit to be bumped out to more square footage. The room count was also reduced by two to make those units more spacious.

The hallways of the Nevada feature acrylic and digital artwork from two local artists, as well as music and lighting. The front lawn of the motel was once open grass and now features gardens, outdoor dining and steps to guests’ rooms.

The Nevada will feature a shuttle service exclusively for guests to the ViewPoint Hotel, also owned by Lipton and Friar, on Nubble Road so guests can enjoy the outdoor restaurant A Little Auk. Those staying at the ViewPoint will also have access to the shuttle to get to the Nevada, which is only a short walk from the couple’s third hotel and restaurant, Stones Throw.

Lipton said the project at the Nevada was about revitalizing one of Long Sands Beach’s iconic structures and preventing it from being turned into residential units.

“Keeping the feeling of the Nevada and giving it a rebirth,” Lipton said, “And not doing something like condos.”

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Nevada Motel revitalized with new Tiki Restaurant

The restaurant Lulu’s, named for Lipton and Friar’s daughter Lucy and her childhood nickname, features Mexican and Polynesian food. Tiki-style restaurants and décor became popular in the 1950s, and Lipton said the Pacific Rim theme went well with the Nevada’s naval element.

Lulu’s focuses less on imagery like native tiki masks and more on the connection between food and nature. On the menu is a raw bar with ceviche, rice and noodle bowls and al pastor – pork cooked vertically, rotating underneath a pineapple from which juice flows down.

Lipton said Lulu’s is open to hotel guests but still needs approval from the Planning Board to be open to the public. Lipton is seeking that approval, but in the meantime, he said he is giving out one-day complimentary guest passes so visitors can get a taste of Lulu’s.

“We can give people a day pass, and now they’re guests of the hotel,” Lipton said, “And they can come in and enjoy the restaurant.”

What’s next for Nevada owners?

Now having three hotels with accompanying restaurants, Lipton and Friar say they plan to take a break from new projects for at least one year to enjoy what they’ve accomplished. They said they still intend to finish the spa at the ViewPoint this year, featuring a hot tub, sauna, cold plunge, fire pits, couples massages and treatments. That project will be completed by late August or early September, Lipton said.

Lipton and Friar say they have focused on projects they thought would not only be successful but also places they would hang out themselves. Lipton said he does not know what opportunity will present itself next, but he said he has been motivated to open businesses that add to the community where he has lived since he was 8 years old.

“Our look at doing things is, what are we creating in the community that’s going to be here after we’re gone,” Lipton said. “This is our form of art. This is how we express ourselves, and then people can enjoy it.”