Who bought the Park-n-Dine, and what's next for landmark restaurant in Hancock?

Hancock businessman Ben Lewis said he has no immediate plans for his latest investment, the Park-n-Dine restaurant property.

But Lewis, who owns a smaller restaurant, the Potomac River Grill on the west side of Hancock, has some ideas.

"Well, hopefully one day we can expand our business into something of this size. … We're not positive, but it'd be nice to be able to accomplish that," he said after the auction.

For years the Park-n-Dine at 189 E. Main St. was a fixture for area residents and for people traveling to and through Hancock.

Hancock native Roger Burnett started the restaurant in 1946, after serving in the Army. He expanded the building as the business grew, adding larger dining rooms to the original diner.

The Park-n-Dine now can seat about 200 people, and it has employed as many as 30 staff members, said former owner Fred Salimi.

It served a variety of dishes, from pie and coffee to breakfast fare, sandwiches and dinner entrees.

Salimi was a veteran of the restaurant business when he bought the Park-n-Dine in 2006. He previously had the Calvert House Inn in Riverdale, Md., for more than 20 years before opting for small-town life in Western Maryland.

But he said the Park-n-Dine could not recover from losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the restaurant shut down.

The lender foreclosed and put the restaurant up for auction.

Bidding started at $300,000, with Jonathan Melnick of Jonathan Melnick Auctioneers conducting the sale.

The competition was between Lewis and another bidder, with prices often advancing by $5,000 at a time.

Lewis won that competition with a price of $470,000. A representative of the lender then said the bank would enter the bidding unless there was an offer of $500,000. Lewis agreed to that.

'Fell in love with the little town'

In addition to the Potomac River Grill, Lewis also has properties in Hancock and a plumbing company, Ben Lewis Inc., in Clarksburg, Md.

He also has a farm in Pennsylvania near Hancock.

"We have about 350 head of registered Black Angus cattle," and the farm has raised has been just for the Potomac River Grill restaurant, Lewis said.

He said beef for the steaks is dry-age cured, and that steak sales are "very, very good" at the Potomac River Grill.

"People love it," Lewis said.

He said the Park-n-Dine's location made it attractive.

The business sits on one of the main entrances to Hancock, near Exit 3 of Interstate 70.

Some of the restaurant's windows provide views of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park and the Potomac River.

"It sits right here on the canal and the river," Lewis said. "There's many things to do here, biking, hiking. You've got the river. You've got the railroad tracks on the other side of the river in West Virginia. You hear the trains go by. It's kind of nice. There's an awful lot of history in this little town."

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Lewis said he originally came to Hancock for access to the Western Maryland Rail Trail.

"I just really fell in love with the little town, you know?" he said.

The deal is not quite done, from a legal perspective. The sale still has to be ratified by the Washington County Circuit Court.

'Like losing a good friend'

At age 72, Salimi said he's moving on to the "retirement chapter" of his life.

He said he knows Lewis and was happy to see him win the bidding.

"He definitely has a good vision, and he has invested in other properties. He's a successful person. And he lives in town," Salimi said.

Still, he said, Thursday was bittersweet.

"Very joyful, but at the same time, it's like losing a good friend or losing somebody dear that you knew," he said. "And you raised this restaurant and letting it go — it's hard. But I'll get over that."

Mike Lewis covers business, the economy and other issues. Follow Mike on Twitter at MiLewis.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hancock businessman wins bidding for Park-n-Dine restaurant