PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — After about 21 months of offering pizza, pasta and sandwiches to customers in the Star City, and nearly seven months in the Shiretown, Amato’s has closed its doors.
In a Jan. 1 advertisement that ran in both The Star-Herald and the Houlton Pioneer Times, owners Jessica and Micah Desmond said they decided to close both the Presque Isle and Houlton restaurants.
“It is with much thought and a tremendous amount of prayer that Micah and I have decided to close Amato’s at both our locations in Presque Isle and Houlton,” the Desmonds said. “With our current economy and some significant health issues, we are finding it difficult to operate a business such as ours.”
The Presque Isle site was located at 379 Main St., while the Houlton store was at 127 North St. Ironically, both locations were former Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants.
According to Theresa Fowler, executive director of the Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce, the Desmonds’ decision to close is disappointing, but understandable.
“The Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce is always sad to see a business close — particularly one that is in the heart of the community,” she said. “I don’t know the cause of Amato’s closure, but hope that Micah and Jessica consider establishing another business in downtown Presque Isle in the future.
“We have been waiting for the economy to recover in this area, but things are moving very slowly,” said Fowler. “I hope that the establishment of a number of wood product manufacturing businesses in the Ashland area will spur growth throughout central Aroostook.”
The advertisement, which thanked customers, employees, vendors and others, noted that Amato’s last day of operation would be Jan. 4. However, the restaurants closed a little earlier than originally planned.
“Well we’re officially done,” the Desmonds wrote on their Facebook page Jan. 3. “We were going to stay open until tomorrow, but the Presque Isle location has run out of both bread and dough a lot sooner than we had anticipated due to all our customers’ support this last week.
“Thank you so so much for all your positive feedback and your continued service,” the couple wrote. “We are glad you gave us the opportunity to try this adventure, but God has a different plan in store for Micah and I, I guess, so on to the next chapter of our lives.”
Any gift cards that were not redeemed can be used at other Amato’s locations throughout the state.
