The name sticks out, and so does the varied menu

LUNCH REVIEW

Staff report

She Doesn't Like Guthries

What first caught my attention about She Doesn’t Like Guthries in Lewiston? To be honest (and really, it’s not so surprising), the name. It sticks out.

She Doesn’t Like Guthries is a small cafe/club downtown. It’s very unassuming from the outside. Big windows look out on the street, but there’s not much to see. However, the inside is comfortable. Not fancy or even club-chic. Just comfortable.

There are painted picnic tables, tall pub tables and regular-height tables for seating, as well as some counter seating. Work by local artists decorates the far wall on the right as you walk in, and a small area for live music is against the wall on your left. You order at the counter at the back of the room.

When my brother and I arrived at the cafe/club at noon on a Friday, it was subdued, but folks from nearby businesses kept coming in the entire time we were there.

We grabbed a paper menu from the counter. I was surprised at the variety of items offered, and even more interested to find good vegetarian and healthy-choice options.

I ordered the Just Jon’s 4 Cheese quesadilla ($7), and my brother ordered the barbecue chicken panini ($7.25). We seated ourselves at a tall pub table by the live music area. We only had to wait about 10 minutes for our food to be brought to us. My brother’s sandwich looked terrific (he said it tasted great), and it came with a gigantic pickle slice and chips. My quesadilla was crispy, and the cheese was chewy. It was such a good size that my brother had to help me finish it.

As I mentioned, the menu has a lot on it that I didn’t expect to see at a cafe that doubles as a club. You can order club-type foods, like salsa and tortilla chips for $3.75, but the bulk of the menu is more substantial in its offerings.

For example, you can order wheat-free fiesta bowls. The veggie fiesta bowl ($7) has salsa, cheese, rice, black beans, tomatoes, peppers and spinach or lettuce. You can also order wheat-free tacos ($6.50). For those avoiding meat, you can substitute soy crumbles.

Also on the menu are a selection of burritos ($7.25 to $7.75), a variety of quesadillas ($7 to $7.75), salads ($5.50 to $7.75) and panini sandwiches. Sandwiches offered include hummus ($6.50), turkey (or Tofurky) for $6.75 and a cranberry walnut chicken salad for $7.25.

She Doesn’t Like Guthries also offers homemade soups (types vary by day), and a kids’ menu. For $5.50, children can order a grilled cheese sandwich, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a ham and cheese sandwich with chips and a drink.

If you’re not interested in having a meal, you can order a coffee or cappucino or grab a beer.

The Features staff of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram anonymously samples meals for about $7.

Facetime: Heather Morin

Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Heather Morin at She Doesn't Like Guthries in Lewiston.
Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Heather Morin at She Doesn’t Like Guthries in Lewiston.

Written by: Lindsay D. Tice

Heather Morin has a unique distinction: she is the “she” in She Doesn’t Like Guthries. The unusually named Lewiston restaurant and entertainment spot opened in 2007 with an uncommon focus on doing business as ecologically friendly as possible. The name was her fiance’s idea, a joke that stuck around. Their unique Lewiston restaurant stuck around, too.

Name: Heather Lee Morin

Age: 30

Hometown: Lewiston

Married/relationship/single? I am engaged to be married this June!

Job: I am one of two owners of the restaurant/cafe/venue She Doesn’t Like Guthries on 115 Middle St. My fiance, Randy Letourneau, is the other owner.

Tell me about Guthries: Guthries is a collaborative effort on the part of my partner and I to do something meaningful with our lives. For us that means offering healthy food choices, providing an ecologically friendly establishment, providing a space for local artists and musicians to connect with the community, and supporting other local products/producers that we enjoy ourselves.

Where did the name “She Doesn’t Like Guthries” come from? Guthries was the name Randy really wanted to name our restaurant, after the folk musician Woody Guthrie, and I kept telling that I didn’t think that name would be a good name for our place and I wanted to try to think of something that I liked better. Being that Randy has a background in graphic design, he was very anxious to put together a logo for our restaurant but needed a name before he began. He added the “She Doesn’t Like” as joke and it stuck. So I am the “she” of “She Doesn’t Like Guthries.”

Do a lot of people ask you that? Yes, and it is becoming harder to keep the same enthusiasm when I explained it. The story is actually starting to sound pretty lame to me the more I say it, but I realize it’s because I’ve said it so many times.

Do you always use the full name or shorten it to Guthries? We generally shorten it to Guthries. It was actually kind of embarrassing when we first started establishing contracts with our vendors and telling people in the community; there were a lot of polite pauses after we told them our restaurant’s name.

When the Sun Journal ran a story on Guthries in 2007, you were working on your graduate degree in ecological teaching and learning. Why go for the degree when you’ve got Guthries? Well, the birth of the idea for Guthries began during discussions between Randy and I during my graduate degree program, which helped me to realize that I was not happy teaching in a traditional setting. And Randy was also not happy where he was working at the time. We began talking about the kinds of work we considered meaningful, our dream jobs, and over several months the idea of owning a business together that combined our passions began to really excite both of us. I used Guthries as my final project by making Guthries as ecologically friendly as possible, and hopefully educate, over time, as an example of such practices within our community.

Has Guthries kept the ecological bent it started with? Yes. I believe we are the first restaurant in Lewiston/Auburn certified through the Maine Department of Environmental Protection as a “green” restaurant. We have recently started a project to compost our waste and plan to grow some of our own produce this summer in an effort to keep getting greener.

Bad economic times are especially hard on restaurants. Does Guthries’ unique character make it more recession proof? I really hope so! I think it also has do with the variety of things we offer: a fairly diverse menu, coffee and espresso, beer and wine, live original local music and local artwork. We’re well rounded I guess.

What’s the bigger draw at Guthries — the food or the music? Since we only have live music on Friday and Saturday nights, but are open Monday through Saturday, I would have to say our food. Although the music events are large reason we are succeeding. 

How do you come up with the food selection? A lot of it is based on what we like to eat, and we do a lot of experimenting, as we are here so much.

What’s been the best part about owning Guthries? All the wonderful people we would not have had the chance to meet and develop friendships with: loyal patrons, great musicians, talented artists and community members also dedicated to making a contribution.

The worst part? DISHES!!!

ltice@sunjournal.com

Be Creative With Less

Written by Jaime McLeod

Heather Morin, co-owner of She Doesn’t Like Guthries in Lewiston, says the most important thing to remember is to “be creative.” Figure out innovative ways to do more with less. At Guthries, Morin and Letourneau manage to offer a large menu of hearty fusion and home-style cuisine using only a panini maker and a hot plate. Because they don’t have an oven, they not only use less energy, they also avoided making a costly improvement to their building that would have required them to vent the oven exhaust up three floors and out of the building.

Getting Green at Guthries

Written by Jaime McLeod

Much like the fresh, filling, Tex-Mex and Mediterranean dishes that make up the majority of the Lewsiton café’s menu, She Doesn’t Like Guthries’ name is kind of a mouthful.

Heather & RandyHeather Morin, one half of the entrepreneurial team behind Guthries explains that the unusual moniker came from an inside joke between herself and co-owner Randy Letourneau. A big fan of old folk music, Letourneau wanted to call the restaurant “Guthrie’s,” in honor of folk legend Woody Guthrie. Morin hated the name, but was at a loss to think of a better one. In the end, the pair settled on Guthries, but added on “She Doesn’t Like” as a coy acknowledgment of Morin’s dissatisfaction with the name.

Though the pair were at odds over what to call their place, Morin and Letourneau were agreed on one very important point: both wanted their restaurant to be as environmentally sustainable as possible.

Protecting the environment has long been one of Morin’s passions. Shortly before opening Guthries, she finished a masters degree program in ecological education and leadership. So, when she and Letourneau decided to open a café, Morin was determined to become a certified “green business” through the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Environmental Leader program. The certification requires business owners to document a series of specific steps to reduce their pollution output and energy usage, and to work for continuous improvement.

She Doesn't Like Guthries Restaurant SignIn many cases, Morin and Letourneau went above and beyond the DEP’s criteria, such as using primarily recycled or non-toxic materials to remodel their space. They’ve also made a commitment to using only recycled paper products and biodegradable plastic cups for take-out drinks.

Morin and Letourneau also make an effort to use local and/or organic ingredients, including some from Lots to Gardens, a Lewiston nonprofit dedicated to making fresh, locally grown produce widely available to area residents. Initially, Morin was excited about the idea of creating a menu of entirely locally-grown foods. Over time, though, she’s realized that goal may be unattainable, at least in Maine.

“Our three criteria for getting local food were that it had to be cost-effective, convenient – we don’t have the time to go out and get it, we need it to be delivered – and available year-round,” said Morin.

“We’ve found a few good sources for local food – including a service out of Westbrook called Wicked Fresh – and we use them as much as possible, but it only makes up a fraction of our menu.”

That commitment also extends to the beverage menu. Guthries sells many varieties of beer, soda, water and coffee produced by local companies, including Maine Root Beer, Coffee By Design, Portland-based Peak Organic Ale and water from Summit Spring, a bottled water company endorsed by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.

Guthries even brought on an environmental intern from Bates College, whose whole job is to research ways the café can lessen its environmental impact. In addition to seeking out local food sources, the intern has looked for ways Guthries can compost or recycle more of its trash.

But Morin admits being a good environmental steward isn’t as easy as she thought it would be.

“It’s been a learning process, and we’re still learning every day. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, money and time really do get in the way. My hope is that it will get easier over time.”

For more information about She Doesn’t Like Guthries, call 207-376-3344.

She Doesn't Like Guthries – Restaurant & Café