BIG TREE HOSPITALITY, LLC

What BIG TREE HOSPITALITY, LLC does

Big Tree Hospitality, LLC is a privately held, founder-owned restaurant group headquartered at 88 Middle Street in Portland, Maine. Founded in 2012 by Arlin Smith, Andrew Taylor, and Mike Wiley when they purchased Hugo's restaurant and opened Eventide Oyster Co., the company has grown into a multi-concept New England hospitality operator with no external institutional funding or parent company. Its portfolio spans full-service restaurants, neighborhood retail markets, off-premise catering, and an events venue, all anchored by a James Beard Award-winning culinary team led by co-founder and Chef-Owner Andrew Taylor.

The company's core offerings are organized across three pillars: (1) Restaurants — Eventide Oyster Co. and The Honey Paw in Portland, plus Eventide Fenway in Boston, covering New England seafood and Southeast Asian-inspired cuisine; (2) Neighborhood Markets — Higgins Beach Market in Scarborough, Falmouth Town Landing Market in Falmouth, and South Freeport Village Market in Freeport, offering breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, lobster rolls, pizza, beer and wine, and provisions; and (3) Catering & Events — Big Tree Catering for weddings, private parties, and corporate events across New England, and the Big Tree at Local venue in downtown Portland for private events and pop-ups. The infrastructure includes a commissary kitchen built in 2014 to support multi-unit operations, and the group has published a cookbook and run branded events (farm dinners, Secret Suppers, cooking classes) in collaboration with partners such as Patron, Allagash Brewing, and Trillium Brewing.

Revenue is generated across four streams: dine-in restaurant sales, retail market sales, catering fees, and event-venue hire. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer through physical locations supplemented by content marketing (the "Stories" section on its website), event-driven brand activations, and recruiting through Indeed. The customer base is fragmented — primarily walk-in diners and individual catering clients across Maine and Massachusetts — with no disclosed enterprise accounts. Pricing is not publicly disclosed on the website. The company operates as a closely held LLC with nine named management contacts spanning founders, a CTO, a Chief Culture and Communications Officer, an Executive Chef, and directors of accounting, events, and HR.

Name

BIG TREE HOSPITALITY, LLC

Legal name

Big Tree Hospitality, LLC

Website

https://bigtreehospitality.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Big Tree Hospitality is a Portland, Maine-based restaurant group operating Eventide Oyster Co., The Honey Paw, Eventide Fenway, three neighborhood markets, catering services, and an events venue across Maine and Massachusetts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant and Hospitality Services

NAICS

Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251), Special Food Services (7223), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (722410)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Steakhouses & Seafood Restaurants (THAFACAE), Venue & Banquet Hall Catering (THAFAIAC)

Keywords

• Restaurant group hospitality
• New England seafood dining
• Catering event services
• Neighborhood market retail
• Fine dining restaurants

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Dining: Revenue from three restaurant concepts: Eventide Oyster Co., The Honey Paw, and Eventide Fenway. Customers pay for dine-in experiences featuring seafood, Asian-inspired cuisine, and classic New England fare.
2. Neighborhood Markets: Retail revenue from three market locations offering breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, pizza, lobster rolls, beer, wine, and provisions to local communities.
3. Catering & Events: Catering services for weddings, private parties, and custom events at venues across New England. Also operates Big Tree at Local for private events and pop-ups.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Big Tree Hospitality is a Portland, Maine-based restaurant group that operates three full-service restaurants (Eventide Oyster Co., The Honey Paw, Eventide Fenway), three neighborhood markets offering breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, lobster rolls, pizza, beer, wine, and provisions, and a catering and events division serving weddings, private parties, and custom events across New England. The company sells dine-in restaurant experiences, retail food and beverage products, and event catering services.

Product overview

Big Tree Hospitality operates a portfolio of restaurant brands, neighborhood markets, and catering services in Maine and Massachusetts. The company's restaurants include Eventide Oyster Co. (a James Beard Award-winning oyster bar in Portland), The Honey Paw (Southeast Asian-inspired cuisine using Maine ingredients), and Eventide Fenway (Boston location). The company also operates three neighborhood markets (Higgins Beach Market, Falmouth Town Landing Market, and South Freeport Village Market) and provides catering services through Big Tree Catering and the Big Tree at Local events venue. The portfolio represents a diversified hospitality group spanning full-service dining, quick-service markets, and event catering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Eventide Oyster Co. A revival of the great American oyster bar offering pristine oysters and shellfish, the famed brown butter lobster roll, and James Beard Award-winning New England fare.
• The Honey Paw
• Eventide Fenway
• Hugo's
• Higgins Beach Market
• Falmouth Town Landing Market
• South Freeport Village Market
• Big Tree Catering
• Big Tree at Local

Products and services

• Eventide Oyster Co. A revival of the great American oyster bar offering pristine oysters and shellfish, the famed brown butter lobster roll, and James Beard Award-winning New England fare, located in Portland, Maine.
• The Honey Paw A globally inspired noodle bar that evolved to focus on Southeast Asian cuisine, deploying Maine ingredients in takes on dishes from Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, Singapore, China, and beyond, located in Portland, Maine.
• Eventide Fenway A Beantown reimagining of Eventide Oyster Co. offering the classics made popular at the Portland restaurant in a sleek setting for seafood lovers, located in Boston, Massachusetts.
• Higgins Beach Market A neighborhood market offering breakfast sandwiches, wood fired bagels, baked goods, lobster rolls, pizza, soft serve ice cream, beer and wine in Scarborough, Maine.
• Falmouth Town Landing Market A neighborhood market offering breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, lobster rolls, sandwiches, pizza, beer and wine, provisions, located across from the town landing in Falmouth, Maine.
• South Freeport Village Market A neighborhood market offering baked goods, coffee and espresso, breakfast sandwiches, provisions, beer and wine, and more in Freeport, Maine.
• Big Tree Catering A catering service that brings the food and hospitality of the restaurants to weddings, private parties, and custom events in unexpected venues across New England.
• Big Tree at Local An events venue in the former Local 188 restaurant space in downtown Portland, Maine, used for private events, pop-ups, holiday celebrations, rehearsal dinners, welcome parties, and corporate gatherings.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Winter Point Oyster FarmminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Eventide team visited Winter Point Oyster Farm in West Bath, Maine for a behind-the-scenes look at their oyster farming operations.
• Trillium Brewing CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 November 2019Hugo's and Trillium Brewing Company teamed up for a sold out beer dinner featuring 5 Trillium beers paired with a 5-course tasting menu celebrating New England food and beer.
• PatroncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 September 2019Partnered with Patron for the Secret Supper event on House Island, September 7th, 2019. Event featured oysters shucked in Fort Scammel, cooked over open fire, and served to fifty guests with a farm and foraged menu.
• Secret SuppercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 September 2019Collaborated with Secret Supper for the House Island dinner event. Secret Supper helped organize and execute the secret location pop-up dinner experience.
• Tops'l FarmminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2019Partnership with Tops'l Farm for their summer dinner series, hosting a sold out River Dinner on the banks of the Medomak River inspired by the Waldoboro fishing community and soft-shell clam season.
• Allagash BrewingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Multiple collaborations with Allagash Brewing including smelting events (becoming a company tradition), farm dinners, and beer pairings. They provide handpicked beer selections for events and have partnered for company outings.
• Bumbleroot FarmminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Hosted an evening with Allagash Brewing at Bumbleroot Farm to celebrate Maine Farmland Trust's work protecting farmland and supporting next generation Maine farmers.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Fore Street Restaurant: Iconic Portland, Maine full-service restaurant focused on seasonal New England cuisine over open fire. Comparable as a destination dining experience in the same Portland food scene with shared farm-to-table sourcing ethos.
• The Standard Restaurant Group: Independent multi-concept hospitality group operating acclaimed restaurants and event spaces. Comparable as a chef-driven, multi-brand independent operator with catering/event business and tight founder involvement.
• Island Creek Oyster Group: New England oyster farm and restaurant group operating multiple oyster bar concepts and sourcing from its own farms. Direct peer given shared oyster/seafood focus, multi-concept structure, and New England regional footprint.
• Salt Yard / Barbara Lynch Gruppo: Boston-based independent restaurant group operating multiple acclaimed concepts (Menton, No. 9 Park, The Butcher Shop). Comparable as a chef-driven, multi-concept New England hospitality group with catering/events.
• Neptune Oyster: Beloved Boston North End oyster bar and seafood restaurant known for its raw bar and lobster roll. Direct comparable as a New England oyster/seafood destination restaurant with strong culinary brand.
• Portland Hunt Club + Tidewater + Lolita (Same+Echo Group): Portland, Maine-area independent restaurant group operating multiple concepts spanning fine dining, casual, and event spaces. Comparable as a Maine-based independent restaurant group with multi-format portfolio and catering/events.

Broad incumbents

• Union Square Hospitality Group: Danny Meyer's multi-concept restaurant group operating acclaimed full-service restaurants with an emphasis on hospitality. Comparable as a scaled, independent multi-concept operator with strong brand recognition and catering/event capabilities.
• Legal Sea Foods: Established New England seafood restaurant chain with a multi-location footprint spanning restaurants and retail markets. Comparable as a New England seafood brand operating both full-service restaurants and market/retail concepts.
• Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises: Large independent multi-concept restaurant group operating dozens of full-service and casual concepts across the U.S. Comparable as a multi-brand portfolio operator with event/catering capabilities, though far larger and more geographically diverse.

Regional players

• Eventide Oyster Co. competitors: Scales Restaurant & Bluefin (Portland, ME): Portland waterfront seafood restaurant offering classic Maine seafood in a similar price tier and quality band. Comparable as a competing destination seafood restaurant in the same Portland dining market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-tree-hospitality-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BIG TREE HOSPITALITY, LLC