Roger Knipp, Boru’s general manager, says he keeps an eye on the weather, and when it warms up he knows he needs to call in extra staff.
“Four to 7 is prime time, because that’s happy hour,” Knipp says of the activity on the deck and the courtyard below. “The weekend is very busy when the sun’s out.”
Down on Commercial Street, the scene is the same. Jeannine Larachelle, who owns the Dry Dock, has seen a big upswing in business with the unexpected summer weather.
“People are so excited about being outside,” Larachelle says. “Everybody wants to be on the deck. We have a really good view. It’s really a working waterfront. You can see lobstermen pulling up their lobsters.”
The restaurant has an upper and lower deck, and right now only the upper deck is open. But the lower level should open soon, and both will provide an outdoor spot to have a drink or grab a bite to eat until October.
Across the Fore River in South Portland, the Saltwater Grille is also seeing more people on its cocktail and dining decks.
“We definitely increase staff on a beautiful day,” says Megan Brady, the Saltwater Grille’s event coordinator. “There’s a summertime feeling to having a drink outdoors.”
The restaurant stops serving lunch at 3 pm and doesn’t start up dinner until 5 pm. But you can still stop by for a drink from 3:30 on and enjoy it on the cocktail deck.
“People try to make the most of every summer day we have,” Brady says.
Even away from the water views, the lure of the deck cannot be denied. Wendi Day, who’s a bartender at Gritty’s in Freeport, says the balmy weather has brought winter-weary Mainers out in droves.
“We have the Mug Clubers, and they never order food,” Day says. “They just get their mug and sit in the sun. I don’t blame them. I’d be doing the same if I wasn’t working.”
In fact, Day says staff members at Gritty’s head straight for the deck when they clock out.
“That’s the first place we go after our shifts,” she says.
And while some places make their decks available only in warm weather (like the Royal River Grillhouse in Yarmouth which opens its deck today), others keep them open all year. Gritty’s is one example, as is Brian Boru. Even when no one would describe the temps as balmy, a few souls always can be found on these popular decks.
“There are people out there year round,” says Knipp of Brian Boru. “Brave or foolish, I don’t know which.”
What to drink in the sun
Frozen drinks of all stripes continue to be respectable choices for warm weather enjoyment, but beer probably takes the prize as the most popular summer beverage. Most of the local breweries produce a special summertime offering, such as Gritty’s Vacationland Summer, which bartender Wendi Day says is the brewery’s most popular drink right now.
But a chilled cocktail also hits the spot on a hot day, and it’s easy to find special concoctions just for the lazy days of summer sipping.
“Our signature drink is the Bloody Mary, garnished with shrimp, celery, lemon and lime,” Dry Dock’s Jeannine Larachelle says. “They just sell themselves in the summer. People see them going out and they want one.”
Tequila Sunrise from Dry Dock, Portland
1 1/4 oz. Tequila
Orange juice
Grenadine
Pour shot of tequila in a 16 oz. glass. Pack the glass with ice and then fill with orange juice. Finish by floating the grenadine on top for a sunrise effect. Garnish with an orange.
Casco Bay Lemondade from Saltwater Grille, SoPo
1 1/2 oz. Absolut citron
4 oz. sour mix
splash of cranberry juice
splash of 7-Up
Mix Absolut, sour mix and cranberry. Shake. Pour into glass. Add a splash of 7-Up. Garnish with a lemon slice.