In this first episode of the season, you’ll get to know the two voices guiding the conversations ahead. Instead of featuring a guest, April Shaw Beaudoin and co-host Jenna Young interview each other, sharing the personal and professional paths that led them to this podcast and to the work they do across Maine’s small business community.

You’ll hear April talk about growing up as a fifth-generation Mainer, leaving the state for Boston, and building a career in branding and marketing alongside her husband, Buck. She explains how Omnitizing, Camden Famous, and now Down East Famous grew out of a desire to help small businesses tell their stories, especially in a state where 99 percent of businesses are small and often run by a single owner. April also reflects on the disconnect many business owners feel around marketing, her own introverted nature, and why long-form storytelling feels essential.

The conversation then turns to Jenna’s journey, from summers spent growing up in Bar Harbor to opening Side Street Café at 26, while pregnant, and eventually building multiple hospitality businesses. Jenna shares how leadership, values, and strong teams have shaped her growth, both as an owner and as a certified coach. Together, they talk candidly about motherhood, ambition, burnout, and balance, and why this season is centered on hearing directly from the people behind Maine’s most beloved businesses.

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In this episode, you’ll hear from Michael Boland, the longtime owner of Havana in Bar Harbor and one of the most influential figures in Mount Desert Island hospitality. Havana was recently named a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurant. Boland is also a co-owner of The Islesford Dock Restaurant and Gallery, and has been involved in a wide range of restaurants, cafés, and lodging projects across Maine.

Boland traces his Maine story back to a college field biology trip in the late 1980s. “I quickly realized that this was significantly better than the Jersey Shore,” he says. He returned the following summer with friends, and never really left. That early pull toward Maine shaped a career built around food, place, and long-term investment in small towns.

The conversation focuses on leadership and decision-making after decades in the business. Boland reflects on becoming more open to ideas, especially from younger staff, and why delegation matters in an industry with endless moving parts. He also offers practical advice for aspiring business owners, including the importance of thinking long-term about real estate and growth.

The episode closes with a candid look at one of MDI’s biggest challenges: housing. Boland explains why many hospitality businesses now provide employee housing themselves, and why sustaining community means finding balance, not picking sides.

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In this episode, you’ll hear from Daron Goldstein, the chef and owner behind Provender Kitchen in Ellsworth. He talks about what it means to deliver consistency night after night, why he prioritizes “elevated hospitality,” and how building relationships with regulars is just as important as what comes out of the kitchen. Whether someone orders the PKB burger or a multi-course dinner, the goal is the same: every guest gets the same level of care.

You’ll also get an honest look at the realities of running a restaurant in Maine. Daron reflects on moving from Boston to Ellsworth, how Provender came together almost by accident, and why the menu is constantly evolving. The conversation covers staffing challenges in a seasonal economy, the pressure of being both chef and owner, and how Provender pivoted during COVID, including serving more than 1,700 free meals to frontline workers and local families. By the end, you’ll understand the culture he’s built, the standards he refuses to lower, and why the PKB burger has become the thing everyone tells you to order first.

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In this episode, you’ll meet Bo Jennings, the director of operations at Side Street Cafe and the president of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce. You’ll get a local’s-eye view of what Bar Harbor looks like after Labor Day, when the crowds thin out but the town still has plenty going on. Bo shares what to put on your calendar in fall and early winter, from the pajama sale and the bed races to holiday events, and he explains why this shoulder season is when Bar Harbor feels most like itself.

You’ll also hear what it takes to keep a seasonal town running, especially when it comes to staffing, housing, and the constant planning required to stay ahead. Bo talks about how his leadership has changed, what “clear is kind” looks like in real life, and why collaboration is the only way big ideas actually happen. The conversation ends with a lightning round that name-drops a few local favorites, including a new restaurant Bo thinks deserves more attention, his sunrise spot on MDI, and a dream musical guest he’d love to book at the Annex.

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In this episode, you’ll meet Jon Stein, the founder of Fogtown Brewing Company in Ellsworth, and you’ll hear how a pre-med biochemistry track turned into a brewing life built around experimentation and community. Jon walks you through the “art and science” of beer, from learning the ropes at a small brewery in Christchurch, New Zealand, to coming back to Maine and building Fogtown into the kind of place where people can gather for music, fundraisers, and a Tuesday night pizza run.

You’ll also get a look at what makes Fogtown feel like more than a taproom. Jon talks about Ellsworth being unusually supportive of new businesses, the constant problem-solving that comes with renovating an old building, and why their menu keeps evolving. He shares what they’re known for, including the Maine Coast IPA and the accidentally-perfect Night Nurse Stout, plus some of the wilder seasonal experiments (yes, the oyster saison is real). The conversation closes with what Fogtoberfest looks like when you’re saving your favorite kegs all year, a thoughtful take on the seasonality pressure that local businesses carry, and a lightning round that nods to Jon’s favorite label, his admiration for Oxbow, and the kind of growth he hopes Ellsworth can pull off over the next decade.

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In this episode, you’ll hear from Joanna Fogg Skye of Bar Harbor Oyster Company, a Mount Desert Island native who came back to the water with a long view in mind. Joanna talks about growing up working on the ocean, from lobster boats to tall ships to private yachts that took her around the world. The travel was exciting, but she tells April and Jenna it eventually felt “a little bit hollow.” What she wanted was to stay rooted, work for herself, and build something meaningful at home.

You’ll hear how oyster farming became that answer, even though she had no formal background and learned largely through trial, error, and grit. Joanna shares what it took to secure a lease in state waters, why she grows a three-year oyster in cold Maine conditions, and how flavor changes with the season. She also explains why keeping the business local matters to her, from limited delivery routes to the honor-system garage sales neighbors rely on each winter. The conversation circles back to sustainability, collaboration, and her hope that Bar Harbor can grow in a way that protects both its waters and its working waterfront.

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In this episode, April and Jenna sit down with Rachel Sisson of R.L. Sisson Events, a planner whose name comes up again and again in reviews that read like love letters: “best decision we ever made,” “thought partner,” “added sparkle,” “reads your mind.” Rachel explains how she first landed on MDI in 2008 after an Appalachian Trail thru-hike, chasing a summer job and the hiking. She stayed for the winters, built a life, and eventually moved from restaurant work into events, starting with catering logistics at Sassafras before stepping into full-service planning and design when she realized there was a real gap for local planners in a destination market.

What makes an R.L. Sisson event recognizable, she says, is less about a repeat look and more about the feeling: couples who want an “elevated dinner party” but care most about being present with their people. Rachel walks through the unglamorous side too, from color-coded production schedules and binders that map every table, to crisis mode when things go sideways. She tells a missing-guest story that turns into a rain-soaked search, and a Hurricane Lee weekend where she moved a major wedding up a day to beat the storm. The episode closes with her advice for guests (“put your freaking phone away”) and the moment she realized what was possible when her work was featured in Vogue.

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In this episode, you’ll hear from Kelly Corson of The Travelin’ Lobster, a family-run lobster pound in Town Hill that has become a must-stop for both locals and visitors. Kelly shares how the business grew out of her husband Phil’s family history, going back to the 1970s when his parents cooked lobsters at their home and tourists would stop by to buy them straight from the source. When Kelly was ready for a career change, she decided to revive the name and try something new, never imagining she’d be running a restaurant. This season marks their tenth year in business.

You’ll hear how the menu and the operation grew organically, shaped largely by customer demand and steady reinvestment. Kelly talks about being cautious by nature, taking “baby steps,” and how her son Nick has brought new energy since joining the business after college. Together, they expanded the bar, added a raw bar, cocktails, live music, and even music bingo, all while keeping the focus on quality and experience. At the center of it all is Phil, who fishes early every morning, brings in the day’s catch, and spends evenings talking with guests about lobstering. Kelly explains why customers say they’ve “never tasted lobster like this before,” and what it takes to run a seasonal business in a tough year for the industry. The conversation touches on resilience, community, and what it means to build something that might last for another generation.

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In this episode, April and Jenna sit down with Allison Sullins inside Bar Harbor’s Criterion Theatre, a downtown landmark that has been here since 1932. Allison’s connection to MDI started in childhood summers camping at Blackwoods and Seawall. Years later, she brought her then-boyfriend to the island, got engaged, married at the Asticou, and bought a house the weekend of their wedding. “I can’t imagine our lives without it,” she says.

Her role at the Criterion wasn’t part of any long plan. “If you would have asked us this time last year… I would say you were absolutely crazy,” she laughs. After the theater closed amid financial strain and unexpected repair costs, Allison and her husband stepped in through their Harbor House Music Foundation with a clear aim: operate the theater as a nonprofit business that can sustain staff, programming, and the building itself. They signed papers in March and quickly pulled together a season of 26 shows, learning the work in real time, from “changing kegs” to writing radio scripts.

Allison is direct about what the theater needs now: patience, feedback, and people showing up. “Buy tickets,” she says, because artists notice when a room feels empty. She hopes the Criterion becomes more than a summer venue, with school partnerships, kids’ recitals, community gatherings, and fall and winter programming. Asked what the Criterion is famous for, she keeps it simple: its beauty, its history, and the pride locals have in keeping it alive.

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Sam Shaw of Shaw Jewelry has been running his shop in Northeast Harbor for more than 40 years. Sam’s path to jewelry started with geology. He was drawn to the landscapes of the American Southwest, then earned a second degree in art. When he opened his business at 24, he realized he needed to sharpen his craft and headed to RISD for graduate study in “light metals,” his term for jewelry.

One of Sam’s best-known bodies of work is the Twig Collection, built from birch twigs gathered right outside his gallery. “I send them 50 wooden twigs and they send me 50 18 karat gold twigs,” he explains. Every piece starts there, and because “every twig is one of a kind,” even a pair of earrings is never perfectly matched. It is both local and personal, rooted in the natural world and made for people who want something that feels specific.

Sam describes himself less as an artist and more as “a maker.” Ideas are not his problem. Time is. His advice for anyone stuck in their head is blunt: “There ain’t nothing to it but to do it.” He admits he makes “a lot of junk,” but insists the only way to find the good work is to keep making, letting the wrong turns lead somewhere useful.

Asked where to find him, Sam keeps it simple: 128 Main Street in Northeast Harbor, with his jewelry online at shawjewelry.com and his figurative work at bodymorphs.net.

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