Iconic Orland Inn Under New Ownership For 2024 Season

A well-known wedding spot and iconic Orland Inn is entering the 2024 season under new ownership.

For over 50 years, the Alamoosook Lakeside Inn has stood nestled along Alamoosook Lake. The site of many wedding receptions and special celebrations, the Inn has only been run by a handful of people since it opened.

Most recently, since 2018, Debbie and Barry Fonseca have been stewards of that space.

According to the Alamoosook's website, the Fonseca's took it over for another long-time owner, Gina Bushong, after selling another Inn they'd been running in Rhode Island, for over over 18 seasons before that.

Get our free mobile app

"We sold the inn and after looking at a bunch of properties we purchased the Alamoosook Lakeside Inn from longtime owner Gina Bushong. Gina and her team have worked very hard to develop an outstanding successful business reputation. Fortunately for us, the inn's staff has agreed to stay on making the transition much easier for us.”

But after 6 years at the Alamoosook, the Fonseca's sold the Inn to two local women, one who has a direct tie to the Inn's history.

Chausey Ashey and Michele Booker have been friends and coworkers for years. Booker, who lives in Brewer, and Ashey, who lives in Bucksport, have worked in the hospitality industry for a long time.

"Chausey was working with her dad, Jeff Ashey at Jeff's Catering, when we met. I came to Jeff's looking for a kitchen to use for a license, for my line of vegan foods. Jeff was gracious enough to offer his kitchen to me...It was at the end of Covid, and they were short-staffed, so I started helping them out, and one thing led to another and I started managing the kitchen full-time for 3 years. The pace at Jeff's Catering is quite intense. Chausey and I both wanted to stay within the industry we both love and excel at, but we wanted to do it on our own terms. We weren't sure what it was going to look like, but that was our goal."

"When Deb first said she wanted to sell we started examining what it would be like running the inn, and then we realized how much untapped potential it had using our particular set of skills... It has been 2 years since Chausey and I first talked (jokingly) about buying it, never thinking they would want to sell... When we started talking about it during the buying process with others in the area we found there was a lot of excitement in the community when they found out we would be opening it back up for the public to enjoy. It's a chance for us to be part of the continuing history of a local touchstone."

Booker says Ashey's connection to the Inn goes way back, to the original builder of the Inn, Winston Ferris.

"Chausey's great-grandfather built this place, and she is from the Orland/Bucksport community...I'm from the Carmel area."

The sale of the Inn went through on May 6th, and it reopened with Booker and Ashey at the helm Memorial Day weekend.

With 30+ years as a chef in the area, and a specialty for creating Vegan meat replacements, Booker says she and Ashey are excited to open the Inn back up to the public, by reservation at first.

"We're not changing much, we are keeping the building intact and minimal painting. We will be outfitting the Inn with new furniture and all new bedding."

"...we are preparing to do many updates which will modernize the entire interior and exterior while also modernizing and streamlining the event planning process and execution."

Booker says they are looking forward to filling their 150-seat dining area with time. At the moment, they're only open for brunch, with dinner to come, but they encourage the public to double-check their Facebook Page first, to make sure there isn't a private event booked for that morning.

Ashey says they will eventually offer catering and bar service.

"We do breakfast on Saturday and Sunday from 8 to noon. (Brunch as soon as I get a couple pieces of equipment ) We'd like to feature different musicians each weekend. "

Best of luck to the new owners. You can follow their updates on the Alamoosook Lakeside Inn Facebook Page, or through their website.