Risk & Business Magazine F.A. Peabody Insurance Fall 2015 | Page 30

Anglers Restaurant
Not Just Another Fish Story

BY: KEN WHITE, WCP, SALES MANAGER, FA PEABODY INSURANCE

B

ud Hall grew up by the sea in
Kennebunk, Maine and carried an
affinity for the ocean since childhood.
He also had a passion for food and
preparing great meals. He earned his
culinary degree directly out of high
school and was employed for several
years as district manger of some very
successful retail food establishments.
Anglers Restaurant allows Bud to meld
both of his loves into one successful
enterprise. Bud’s zest for his business
and desire to succeed is a driving force
behind Anglers. Many of northern and
central Maine’s independent family
restaurants are long gone, losing their
bid for survival to the larger capitalized
chains with mega marketing budgets. At
the same time, Anglers has grown from
one small family restaurant beginning
in 2000 with Searsport, to three thriving
restaurants, adding Anglers in Newport
in 2006 and the Hampden location
in 2009. Bud’s obviously developed
the right formula for success in the
restaurant business.
Angler’s goal is 100% satisfaction with
their customers, which applies to the
total customer experience. A primary
factor that differentiates this concern
from competitors is insuring a great
“personal experience” for their clientele.

This begins by getting to know and care
about their customers. The staff and
management are familiar with their
customer’s interests, family, friends
and what’s going on in their lives. This
begins with the server. Amy Nickerson,
Anglers district manager, states, “When
hiring a server we look for more than just
someone who can handle the job. It’s
important that they like people and enjoy
interacting with the customer to insure a
great personal experience.” Amy is quick
to point out that they have an incredible
staff and many have been with them
since their beginning.
The second ingredient in developing
a successful retail food enterprise is
consistent product quality. Whether
you’re dining in Anglers Hampden
or Searsport locations it’s imperative
the food quality be indiscernible.
To assist in assuring this goal, Bud
holds weekly meetings on Fridays
with his management staff from all
three restaurants, rotating between
locations every week. They also have
established relationships with known
and trusted seafood wholesalers who
deliver the quality Anglers requires for
their customers. Furthermore, there is
accountability throughout the entire
system. As an example, nearly 100% of

Ashley Clay, Amy Nickerson, Jen Roberts

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RISK & BUSINESS MAGAZINETM FALL 2015

the incredible selection of desserts is
made by a family member who has been
tasked with this job for several years.
Anglers continue to earn food quality
awards that serves to reinforce their
high standards. They recently won “Best
Lobster Roll in Central Maine” from
Bangor Metro and in 2015, The Village
Soup, which annually awards Waldo
County’s Best of the Best, awarded them
1st place in the following categories:
Seafood Restaurant, Fried Seafood,
Family Restaurant/Kids Menu, Clam
Chowder and Pies.
The third ingredient in the mix for
success in this industry is affordability
of menu items for families. While
close attention to the numbers is
always necessary for any business to
remain profitable, a balance must be
established insuring the menu meets the
pocketbooks of their target market which
is the family. Amy is quick to point out
that close attention to the numbers is
continuous throughout the year.
Throughout the 15 year history of
Anglers, Bud Hall has always remained
focused on the original concept
embodied in their slogan “Maine’s Family
Seafood Restaurant”. Many concerns
lose sight of their initial focus as they
grow and change to meet new demands,
however, Bud’s lifetime of experience in
the restaurant industry has taught him
to avoid this pitfall and remain steadfast
to the concept that brought success.
Seafood remains the focus on the menu,
with Anglers noted for their haddock
and scallop entree’s and family remains a
central theme beginning with how they
choose to view not only their customers
but the employees as well.

Ken White, Sales Manager for F. A.
Peabody Company, is the Agent for Anglers
Restaurant. Ken specializes in commercial
retail, wholesale and manufacturing
accounts.