Amato’s closes

By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
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 KFC restaurants.
“It is a loss for our community,” said Lori Weston, economic and community development director for the town of Houlton. “Micah and his wife brought energy and enthusiasm into our community. Amato’s is an excellent franchise and offered a menu that was different from other local cuisine. They enjoyed being a part of our community. Health issues are a top priority when you are raising a young family and of course should take precedence over business. It is always sad and unfortunate when a business closes its doors. Efforts will continue to be made with regard to the building and finding a new occupant.”
Jane Torres, executive director for the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce, echoed those sentiments.
“Corporate Amato’s supports fledgling stores in a huge way and this would be a great opportunity for a person to step in and take over where the Desmonds left off,” she said.
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.
Just a few days before the announcement of Amato’s closing, the Houlton restaurant was burglarized. In the early morning hours of Dec. 30, a person or persons broke into the restaurant through a window located in the rear of the building.
Houlton Police Chief Butch Asselin said a safe and undisclosed amount of money was taken from the property. The safe was later located in Westfield. No arrests have been made.
Staff writer Joseph Cyr contributed to this article.