28-02-2025
Kennebunk's White Sails Inn opens the Shipwreck Pub to the public: Be our guest
KENNEBUNK, Maine — New to the area, Susanne Lillis wants to get to know her neighbors on Fletcher Street and her fellow residents throughout the community.
This week, she acted on an idea she hopes will work: she opened The Shipwreck Pub, the lounge inside White Sails Inn, to the public.
'Anybody can come by,' Lillis said.
Lillis owns and operates the inn, which she purchased from its previous owner, Armand Boudreau, in 2023.
The pub is painted with a deep, soothing blue and adorned with paintings of a nautical nature, keeping in step with the inn's tribute to Kennebunk's beloved history of shipbuilding.
Behind the counter, there's a full bar, complete with gluten-free and non-alcoholic options in addition to the usual staples.
'We have a little bit of everything,' Lillis said, adding that the pub serves drinks only and not food.
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A large, round table sits in one corner, right by three windows, offering lots of daylight when the sun is shining. It's the only table in the place, and that's the point: it's where people can gather around, socialize while nursing cocktails, enjoy a beer, or even play one of the board games that are stacked on a nearby shelf.
Two standalone chairs rest against the opposite wall for those seeking a sense of solitude with a newspaper, a magazine, or one of the books that line a shelf underneath those board games.
A widescreen television is affixed to the wall, ready to broadcast a game or some other programming to entertain guests or provide additional atmosphere.
Lillis said the pub is home to two book clubs she hosts, both of which meet during the last week of the month.
Add it all up, and you have a meeting space that Lillis describes as 'inviting.'
'It's cozy and a little bit sophisticated,' Lillis said. 'Warm is the word.'
When the weather is nice, the pub's sphere will spread to the inn's front porch and to the firepit that's surrounded by Adirondack chairs in the front yard.
For years, the pub was available only for the inn's guests and was a key part of the bed-and-breakfast spot's appeal. Lillis opened the pub to the public for the first time on Tuesday, Feb. 25, and plans to keep it open every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m.
'If it proves a hit, we can certainly look at expanding,' Lillis said.
Lillis' career in the hospitality industry goes back 25 years. She was born and raised in Denmark and began working in the industry during the nine years she spent in Germany. She and her husband moved to the United States in 1999, settling first in Oregon and ultimately making it to Rangely, Maine.
While Sails Inn – formerly the Elizabeth Rose House – caught the attention of Lillis by its location, she said.
'It's close to the ocean,' she said. 'I grew up on the ocean.'
The inn, a longtime presence of Fletcher Street, has guest rooms on its upper level and has enough space on the first floor to hold such events as wedding receptions, baby showers, and more, according to Lillis.
When Lillis learned that the inn was for sale in 2023, she booked a room and arrived in Kennebunk as a visitor. Upon her arrival, she did not announce her curiosity about potentially buying the place, but she knew that would become her plan the moment she stepped inside.
'When I walked through the front door, I knew I was home,' she said.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunk's White Sails Inn opens the Shipwreck Pub to the public
