ALNA, Maine — There are surely plenty of Mainers who have never heard of the small town of Alna, let alone find it on the map.
However, the town’s fame is spreading, and people from other parts of the state are finding their way to Alna—about eight miles inland from Wiscasset—because of The Alna Store.
The small restaurant opened 14 months ago, and has gained a loyal following. It's also been noticed far beyond Maine. The James Beard Foundation has named The Alna Store a semifinalist in its ranking of the best new restaurants in the country.
"It was kind of surprising," chef Devin Dearden said. "I think we do really good stuff here, but to be nominated as one of the best new restaurants is really cool."
The store itself has been around for many years, known locally as a good breakfast spot, as well as the only local store in the small town.
Brian Haskins and his long-time partner, Jasper Ludwig, bought the place two years ago. They already owned a restaurant in Arizona, but Jasper grew up in nearby Newcastle and heard the store was for sale. So they bought it, did a major renovation and rebuilding, and opened their second restaurant in December of 2022.
"Our vision is good food, sourced from our neighbors who are people doing things the way we feel they should be done," Haskins said.
He and others of the staff said locally grown and produced food is a key to the restaurant’s growing reputation. The James Beard nomination isn’t hurting either.
"It's brought a lot of new people here, and helped them be more excited about us, which is cool," Haskins said.
Baker and pastry chef Kristin Lamontagne sees a link to their local food mission. "Hopefully, we stay busy so we can keep doing what we’re doing. Supporting the farms around us and the farmers, local food community we work hard to be part of."