Landmark restaurant/catering facility saved and renovated

The Maine Maid Inn has been serving the public with fine fare since 1789. The property was originally owned by the Hick's family (for whom Hicksville Long Island was named). The underground railroad even operated there for a time. Clearly, the Maine Maid Inn has major historical significance to the Long Island community as well as emotional significance for the thousands of families who have celebrated special occasions there. So, when the former owners decided to sell the facility, Rajiv and Payal Sharma (owners of Huntington based restaurant Sitar) stepped in to preserve this landmark facility and bring it back to its deserving glory. In addition to being a full service restaurant handling lunch, dinner and special occasions, the Maine Maid provides small and medium size event catering in its traditional colonial New England type setting. The facility can accommodate up to 300 guests with its various rooms on two floors. With the input of the new owners, the menu has been modernized (still preserving its traditional favorites), the bar area has been freshened along with some of the smaller dining rooms. This unique facility was preserved through a combination of unique financing programs with Business Loan Express providing a first mortgage loan and Long Island Development Corporation providing a second mortgage loan under the SBA 504 loan program. The Sharmas put in ten percent of the project to purchase the 10,000 foot building in Jericho. LIDC loan officer Ken Kowalczyk said, "This project represents the preservation of a wonderful Long Island tradition dating from colonial times while enhancing the facility's ability to serve the community in an up to date, fresh manner." For more information about the SBA 504 loan program see www.lidc.org. Roslyn Goldmacher is a licensed real estate broker in N.Y. as well as president/CEO and founder of the Long Island Development Corp. & The Greater N.Y. Development Co.