How a 26-year-old saved Nick's Beachside Grille from closing down at York Beach

YORK, Maine — Bill Shaheen said he would have leased his space at 1 Ocean Ave. and closed Nick’s Beachside Grille if he didn’t find a general manager like Tanner Goff.

The restaurant had plans to stay open year-round but closed in November because they had no staff. In January, they found Goff, who, at 26, had worked in restaurants for nine years and was looking to pave a path as a restaurateur.

Now, Nick’s is back open with a small crew led by Goff. He said he plans to be at Nick’s for the long haul and hopes to one day become owner – something Shaheen said he hopes as well.

“My aspirations would be to eventually own the place,” Goff said. “I feel like I came in at the perfect time.”

From McDonald's to Nick's at York Beach

Goff grew up on the Canadian border in Houlton, Maine, about a four-hour drive north of York. He said he was homeschooled in a family that owned a rabbitry, and that his mother was an avid home cook.

“She didn’t go to culinary school, but she was always watching the Food Network, pulling up recipes, tweaking them,” Goff said. “She wanted to do everything from scratch.”

Goff got his first job at 17 at McDonald’s, where he became a manager. From there, he went to Texas Roadhouse for six years, becoming a general manager and trained in both the front and back of the house.

When he learned of an opportunity at Nick’s to run a locally-owned restaurant, he wanted it to be his next step. He said he learned a lot from chains but was ready to put his own stamp on a restaurant.

“I can actually leave my mark,” Goff said.

Nick’s has been at 1 Ocean Ave. for two summers, previously an Italian restaurant also owned by Shaheen, who owns the building. He and Patti Krukoff-Bernier, who also manages Shaheen’s diner Molly O’s, opened Nick’s as partners to give the space a new feel.

Nick’s opened in 2022, serving tourists and locals a menu of burgers, steak, pizzas and seafood with a view that overlooks Ellis Park and Short Sands Beach. They stayed open through the winter that year, becoming one of the only businesses to do so in the offseason.

This winter, Shaheen said they lost their chef and had no one to work. They closed in November, and Shaheen said he began looking to find the right person to run Nick’s. If he couldn’t, he said he would likely lease the space to another tenant.

Shaheen met Goff in January and was impressed. He said he loved Goff’s story of growing up feeding animals and growing fresh food. Shaheen saw not only a general manager in Goff but potentially someone to become a partner down the road.

“I’m 80 years old. I like to give people an opportunity,” Shaheen said. “I want to give somebody an opportunity to work really, really hard and become somebody, and it could lead to a piece of the business.”

Nick’s ready for 2024 with Goff at the helm

Nick’s has a small crew with Goff, one cook, and two servers. He said that will be enough for the offseason and that the return of H2B visa workers will bolster their ranks in the summer.

The first two weeks came with challenges. Goff said the opening was slow due to an error with advertising. Last Saturday, Nick’s lost its power during dinner as well.

Goff said he has faced those challenges with an open mind. He and his cook used their phone flashlights to finish cooking meals on the restaurant’s gas stoves and still-warm pizza oven to get customers their orders, which made the day a success.

“I didn’t want to just tell them that we couldn’t do it,” Goff said. “I figured at the very least send them with their food to go.”

The menu will stay mostly the same under Goff, though he has added a couple of new items. He thought it was important to have mac and cheese available. The new menu item is made with Gruyère and cheddar cheese, topped with panko.

Shaheen believes Goff has the potential to make Nick’s a restaurant that attracts visitors not simply because it’s at the beach but because of its quality. He said he may even send Goff to a chef’s school to help him grow.

“Tanner’s serious about it,” Shaheen said. “If he sticks with me, he could have a great life.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Nick’s Beachside Grille at York Beach reopens with a new leader, chef