Building a dynasty: 3 generations of Sporting Club owners

SINCLAIR - The Petersons spent twenty years establishing the Long Lake Sporting Club as a successful business. Then their daughter Debbie and her husband Ken spent another twenty years building the Club's reputation to what it is today. Now, a third generation is taking over, and who knows what the next twenty years might bring.

MEET THE FAMILY - Mark and Pierrette Peterson, left, bought the Long Lake Sporting Club in 1971, and ran it for 20 years before selling to their daughter Debbie and her husband Ken Martin, center, who also ran it for 20 years before selling to their son Neal and his wife Denise, shown on the right with their baby girl Hanna. - Contributed image

Neal Martin met his wife Denise several years ago at the Long Lake Sporting Club where Neal grew up standing on a chair stirring sauces alongside his father Ken and where he aspired to one day own his family's legacy. Denise began working part-time at the club while attending college. In 2008, the couple married. Denise traded in her career prospects in teaching to work with Neal in the family business. This past New Year's Eve, the couple purchased the restaurant from Neal's parents, and with that purchase, a dynasty was born.

The Long Lake Sporting Club was built in 1922 and went through several owners and multiple changes over the years, including a time when the buildings housed hotel rooms to meet liquor license requirements. It burned to the ground twice in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Both times the owners rebuilt, and business continued to grow. Many people in the St. John Valley know the history of the Club. It's printed on the back of their menu, which lists about twelve simple items expanded from the steak, salmon, and seasonal smelt menu that started the business.

Mark Peterson was stationed at Loring Air Force Base in the 1950s when he met Madawaska native Pierrette Ringuette, who he later married. The couple moved to Minnesota where they raised two children, Debbie and Mike. They vacationed on Long Lake often while visiting Pierrette's family. It was during a vacation in 1971 that the couple found the Sporting Club for sale. They returned to Minnesota and promptly sold their home. Within six weeks of making the decision, they were the new owners of the Club, the first generation of a dynasty they had no way of knowing they were creating.

"It was quite a culture shock," said Debbie of her childhood uprooting.

Debbie worked with her brother and her parents in the restaurant for twenty years. She performed many different jobs along the way, including waitress, ployes cook, and dishwasher. Nowadays, Debbie's found her place behind the bar serving up drinks to thirsty customers and managing the dining room and lounge. In fact, the only job Debbie has yet to do in over forty years with the Sporting Club is that of head cook. Debbie grew up knowing exactly what kind of hard work is involved owning and running a successful restaurant.

"I didn't get to go to a lot of basketball games and school dances," she said.

In 1991, the Petersons sold the Club to their daughter and her husband Ken Martin who continued to build on the Club's reputation of great food and service. When Ken and Debbie took over, they added a few items to the menu and upgraded the dining room and kitchen areas. Like Debbie's parents before, they lived in the apartment above the restaurant and raised their son Neal and daughter Stacy, who both grew up working the family business.

The Club gained statewide attention, earning Editor's Pick in Yankee magazine in 1999 and 2004, and Best Ployes in Down East Magazine. The Bangor Daily News, Food Coma TV, and various local media outlets have all featured the Sporting Club. Last year, the Fort Kent Chamber of Commerce presented the Club with their longevity award.

John Deitz of Food Coma TV, based out of Portland, summed up the public's general feeling about the Sporting Club when he said in a recent episode, "This place is amazing. The food is simple, but it's all perfectly done. Like perfect steak, perfect chicken wings. It's just better than basically anywhere in Portland. This place is actually worth driving six hours to come to."

The secret to the success? Ken Martin stakes his reputation on the answer.

"Consistency," he said. "We're a service industry, and I believe service is why we're here today. It's the service we provide."

Fortunately for fans of the Club's cuisine, Neal says that, as the new owner, he plans to keep things status quo.

"[We'll be] trying to keep it the same, as seamless as possible," he said.

Ken says his son is more than up to the challenge of running the restaurant.

"It's been a long time coming, and Neal's been getting ready for this for 15 years. Since the sixth grade, it was his goal to buy this place," said Ken. "We couldn't have picked a better couple to buy the place. It's pretty simple."

Still, Ken says he hopes to remain involved for many years.

"I'd like to stay involved until I retire, or until he tells me to stop," he said.

Although Ken and Debbie plan to continue to be an active part of the business, they are also looking forward to a little free time that being owner operators of a restaurant open 363.5 days per year doesn't exactly afford. Besides aging and cutting their own beef for their famous steaks, Ken and Debbie say there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes when running a restaurant and they're ready to make up for a little lost time.

"There's a lot of prep nobody sees. There are hours and hours of prep before we even open. We missed a lot of stuff," said Debbie. "We sacrificed."

Five months ago, Neal and Denise welcomed a little girl, Hanna, into their lives, quite possibly the face of the next generation in the Sporting Club dynasty. In the meantime, people will continue to travel from far and near to enjoy a cut-to-order steak, a four-pound lobster, or just the company of good friends in a comfortable atmosphere. After all, according to Ken, those who visit the establishment are the real owners of the Sporting Club.

"We don't own the business. The business owns us," he said. "It's the people's place. We just lock and unlock the doors."