About the Seagull Shop


The Seagull Shop first opened in 1937 as The Sea Gull Tea Room, where sandwiches and pastries were served at umbrella-sheltered tables on an open porch overlooking the ocean. A few postcards and gifts were offered for sale in the building that housed the kitchen. As the Tea Room grew in popularity, the owners enclosed the porch to make a dining area where every table had an ocean view. The menu expanded to include lunch and dinner, and the selection of gifts grew as well.

In 1977, the Houghtons, a young family from Massachusetts, bought the Seagull Shop. They made much needed improvements to the old building, adding a new well and septic system, which allowed them to expand the menu even further. The restaurant began serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, becoming known in the area for the blueberry pancakes, homemade chowders, and fresh seafood dinners. The gift shop was filled with goods displayed to tempt the growing Pemaquid Point community as well as the thousands of visitors who travel to this beautiful area.

After 40 years of running this successful business, Paula Houghton, ready to start a new chapter in her life, sold The Seagull Shop to Tim and Betsey Norland in March of 2017.

The Norlands have had a special place in their hearts for Pemaquid Point after first visiting the area together in 1980. They rented a cottage nearly every summer for many years before finally purchasing a house within walking distance of the lighthouse. Betsey’s connection to Pemaquid goes back to 1959, when she first had lunch at the Sea Gull Shop with her family. It was then she learned that her grandparents had visited Pemaquid Point when they were courting in 1910. A love for the area has been in her family since before there was even a Sea Gull Tea Room.

The Norlands’ annual visits to Pemaquid always included visits to the Sea Gull shop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Tim’s favorites include the eggs Benedict and the Maine lobster bake, while Betsey prefers the blueberry pancakes and the Captain’s Pie. The Norlands knew the business had been for sale for quite some time, and they -- along with many other local patrons -- hoped that whoever bought the place would keep the favorite aspects of this cultural icon in place. Their decision to purchase the Seagull Shop didn’t crystallize until they learned that Brooke Cotter was willing to take on the role of General Manager.

Brooke Cotter grew up in her family’s restaurant business, learning all aspects of running a restaurant from experience. As a long-time employee at the Seagull Shop, she was everybody’s favorite waitress as well as an invaluable assistant to former owner Paula Houghton. While Tim and Betsey knew what they loved and wanted to preserve in the Seagull Shop from many years as patrons, Brooke knew the business from the inside and is the perfect managing partner.

We continue to offer the same home-style sandwiches, chowders, dinners and fresh-made desserts that folks from across the country and around the world look forward to enjoying each season. People come to see the spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean, hike along the rocks, and tour the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse with its Fisherman’s Museum and Art Gallery.

Our customers continue to experience the peaceful charm that has characterized the Seagull Shop for more than 80 years. They return to enjoy their old favorites – like the famous blueberry pancakes and seafood omelets, fried clams and lobster rolls -- and discover new additions like vegetarian dinner specials and house-made crab cakes. Before and after dining, they like to check out the newly refurbished gift shop where they can choose from our huge selection of gifts, postcards, jewelry, Maine books, T-shirts and sweatshirts and Pemaquid Point souvenirs.

We all work hard to exceed your expectations, preserving your treasured memories of this beloved spot while adding new features to enhance your visit.

At the end of a successful 2017 season, Tim and our webmaster Mark Eelman set up a surfcam overlooking the waves that crash on the rocks in front of the restaurant. Now visitors from around the world can stay connected to the beauty of Pemaquid Point any time of the year by going to the Sea Gull Surfcam page.

See ya @ The Seagull