For most of July, there was exactly one way to walk between the two halves of Perkins Cove, and for several weeks that one way did not work. The pedestrian drawbridge that connects the Cove's north and south sides got stuck in the raised position because of a mechanical failure, and the town told people not to try walking around it. There was no safe detour. If you wanted to get from one side to the other, you took a taxi or a shuttle, or you didn't go.
Anyone who lives here already knows this. The stuck bridge and the summer's restaurant changes offer a glimpse of how Ogunquit is changing. The bridge is one example, but it's not the only one.
The Perkins Cove Footbridge
The Perkins Cove footbridge dates to 1941, and it still works the way it always has: hand-operated, with buttons anyone can press to raise the spans when a boat needs to pass. It's a nice bit of civic trust. When it jammed this year, the town confirmed the mechanical problem, advised against attempting the crossing on foot, and pointed to a longer-term fix already in motion. Ogunquit had already secured close to $2.75 million in federal and state funding toward a full bridge replacement, with the design work in its final stages at the time.
That funding didn't appear because of one bad summer. Town leaders have been watching the bridge's condition for years, aware that salt air and storm cycles wear on wood and steel differently than they do inland. The goal for the rebuild is durability that matches the original's character, not just a patch job. The town later posted its public safety notice that the bridge had reopened.
Meanwhile, On Shore Road
As the Portland Press Herald reported, Ogunquit's restaurant scene was changing, with several businesses opening or moving into larger spaces.
Five-O spent a season away and came back into a larger space, taking over the former Northern Union location at 261 Shore Road. The move brought its seafood, handmade pastas, and cocktail program into a bigger room built to hold more people at once. A few blocks over, Bar Harbor Cheesecake Company, an established name that built its following further up the coast, opened its first Ogunquit location on Main Street.
The Front Porch Piano Bar and Restaurant made the boldest physical statement. After more than 40 years as one of the town's anchor gathering spots, it reopened this spring following a significant renovation that added a tiki bar and outdoor seating for 60 more guests.
The Owner Making the Case Out Loud
Scott Vogel, who owns The Front Porch along with Coastal Alchemist at The Trident Inn and the all-day bar and restaurant CREW, has spoken publicly about Ogunquit's restaurant scene. He sits on Ogunquit's Select Board and previously chaired the Chamber of Commerce, which means his read on the town's trajectory carries some weight beyond his own dining rooms.
Vogel has pointed out that Ogunquit, at roughly four square miles with about 1,200 year-round residents, already supports around 55 restaurants. For comparison, he's noted that Freeport, with close to eight times the population and six times the tourist traffic, had fewer than 30 restaurants as of 2023. That's a town whose food economy is disproportionately large for its size.
In the Portland Press Herald, he framed the recent wave of openings as a shift toward more "elevated" places. He's gone as far as suggesting Ogunquit might be close to landing a satellite restaurant from a recognizable regional chef, pointing to Boston's Ken Oringer as the kind of name that could plausibly show up here next. Whether or not that specific bet lands, the fact that a working restaurant owner is making it publicly says something about where he thinks the town's ceiling actually is.
What Off-Season Even Means Now
The detail that matters most for anyone who lives here year-round isn't the tiki bar or the cheesecake. It's that Vogel has made a point of keeping his restaurants open through the winter when he can. CREW stayed open all season to serve the town's roughly 1,200 permanent residents and its winter visitors, and The Front Porch, which used to close for two full months in the off-season, is moving away from that pattern too.
That's a real change in what living here feels like outside of July and August. Having more kitchens open from Columbus Day to Memorial Day makes for a different daily experience. Ogunquit still empties out compared to its peak, when the population swells from around 1,200 to roughly 18,000 and the town hosts something like 500,000 visitors between Memorial Day and Labor Day. But the gap between "peak Ogunquit" and "actual Ogunquit" is narrowing on the restaurant side, while the footbridge replacement remains a longer-term project.
Two Threads, One Town
A town that's attracting a regional cheesecake brand, welcoming a bigger Five-O, and hearing its own restaurateurs talk about star chefs has plenty of changes to watch. The funded Perkins Cove bridge replacement is another project on the horizon.
If you already live in Ogunquit, you may have noticed the busy dining rooms this summer. The restaurant changes and the temporary bridge closure were two visible parts of the season.
If you're weighing what any of this means for your own address in Ogunquit or elsewhere along the Maine coast, Bailey Pate and the team at Maine Real Estate Co are always glad to talk it through, no pressure, just a conversation grounded in what's actually happening on the ground here.