While some, like myself, don’t understand the attraction to Maine, there are still 1.1 million people dwelling in the state. Known for the harsh winters, which require a hefty pair of  L.L. Bean boots, Maine doesn’t seem like the ideal place for cultivating a bountiful harvest. However, from late spring until fall, Maine thrives, producing regional gardens of blueberries, potatoes, and vegetables. What is grown in the ground may not be as impressive though as the catch. With nearly 3,500 miles of coastline, the Pine Tree State’s thriving seafood market has always set it apart. Even with a short warm season, Maine has managed to woo those with its land. In the 1970s Maine saw an increased migration of individuals moving from cities to rural Maine. Inspired by Helen and Scott Nearing’s book, Living the Good Life: How to Live Simply and Sanely in a Troubled World, cosmopolitans came to Maine in search of a slower lifestyle. 

In many ways, the legacy of Helen and Scott Nearing’s simple lifestyle may still be enchanting people. Chad Conley of Rose Foods in Portland and Palace Diner in Biddeford has grown up with the slower living lifestyle. Conley grew up in Portland working in area restaurants such as Hugo’s and Duckfat before moving to New York City to explore the restaurant scene there. 

He says, “I could have decided to stay in New York City, or go to Portland, Oregon, San Francisco or Chicago, but because Portland had opportunity for me to live out my career ambitions and to have all other things in life that I wanted, it was sort of a no-brainer,” he says. Moving back may have been the best career move, as his next job at Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine led him to Greg Mitchell, who would become his business partner at Palace Diner.

When he says Portland was able to offer “all other things in life” he is referring to having a family while also pursuing a career in the restaurant industry. Typically restaurants are not known for offering the most family friendly lifestyle. With late hours, bedtimes and school events can go missed. Especially with major metropolitan areas having a higher cost of living, building a family can be more difficult. By moving home to Portland, Conley was able to build a life for himself that allowed him to be a part of an industry he cared about while also growing a family. However, when coming back to Maine he wasn’t able to immediately open in Portland. Instead, Conley and his business partner Greg Mitchell opened south of Portland in Biddeford.

“I opened there because I was younger and didn’t have any money and Biddeford was a place where it was possible for me to open a business there Portland really wasn’t for the place I was in in my life at the time,” Conley says speaking to the beginning stages of Palace Diner, the first restaurant he and Mitchell would come to own together. Not only was their location affordable with the diner inhabiting a 15-seat train car turned counter-service diner, but their hours could be managed for family life. Open from 8am-2pm, the hours could allow for a more family friendly schedule rather than the traditional late-night lifestyle of the restaurant industry.

One might wonder how to succeed in the restaurant industry with those hours? Measuring success in the industry can be done through popularity but also critical recognition. Conley’s first restaurant, got both. Palace Diner was featured by Bon Appetit as one of the 50 Best New Restaurants in 2014, when its doors first opened and has continued to receive critical acclaim even in 2018, as Eater named it one of America’s 38 Essential Restaurants. Conley’s talent and success in no way has been inhibited by his choice to make having a family life a priority. Instead it may have contributed to his success. With Rose Foods, Conley is continuing the formula with another daytime spot which is a reinvention of the classic New York Jewish deli. “Now that Rose Foods is open in Portland I do finally have a place in Portland,” he says. Rose Foods was featured again as one of Bon Appetit’s 50 New Restaurants in 2018 and remains a day time spot where Conley will continue to grow his passion and raise a family.

Setting The Scene