Farmington, ME
A Wilton woman who wants to open a restaurant is the new owner of the Farmington Diner.

The only hitch is that the new owner, Rachel Jackson-Hodgdon, will need to move it from the construction site of the new Rite Aid by next week, the giant pharmacy's developer, Bruce Carrier, said Tuesday.

Hodgdon, in an interview earlier this winter, said her dream was to open a place in which the menu would focus on locally grown food.

"I feel there is a need for a restaurant like that, and I would like to see it in Wilton," she said at the time.

Hodgdon could not be reached for comment Tuesday. However, Wilton's code enforcement officer said Hodgdon wants to put it on property she owns on the southeast corner of U.S. Route 2 and Cemetery Road.

Carrier said Hodgdon has agreed to move the diner by the end of next week. She is getting it "as is," for free.

"I'm glad it is going to someone local," he said.

The diner was moved to Farmington from Lewiston in the 1960s and became a local landmark, known for serving generous helpings at affordable prices, until it closed in December.

Charlie Webster, a former regular patron who owns a Farmington heating business, said he was glad the diner was being saved but said that moving it to Wilton will be a problem for the majority of customers. People ate there not only because of the ambiance, price, and camaraderie but also because it was conveniently located to downtown, he said.

Webster said a lot of business was done at the diner.

"I must have sold 75 heating systems over a cup of coffee in the past 20 years," he said. "It will be hard to replicate the diner's mystique. It is a very unique type of place. But time will tell."

Carrier took ownership of the diner after he purchased the property along with the C.N. Brown Co. gas station and a vacant commercial building to make way for a 14,673-square-foot Rite Aid.

The diner's former owner, Russell Wood, attempted to sell it for a reported $25,000.

Carrier gave Wood until Feb. 12 to find a buyer. Wood, a contractor in Florida, said in an interview there were a few interested buyers but no one had stepped forward. The diner had only days left before demolition would have been ordered.

Wilton's Code Enforcement Officer Paul Montague said Hodgdon will need a building permit before she brings it to Wilton, where she owns property. To open a restaurant, she would need to submit a use permit under the town's site review ordinance and come before the Planning Board.

Originally published online here: http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/4761344.html