New Sicilian-inspired eatery opens in former Bucksport brewhouse

A new restaurant offering sliders, house-made pasta and a variety of sides — much of it with a Sicilian twist — has opened in the downtown Bucksport space that was previously the popular Friar’s Brewhouse Tap Room.

The new business at 84 Main St., called My Buddy’s Place, opened this week and will serve lunch and dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays, along with brunch on Sundays.

Among the notable items on its menu are BLT lobster sliders on Hawaiian pretzel rolls, an Italian sandwich, and house-made spaghetti with different options for toppings. It’ll also serve beer, wine and coffee, and desserts including cannolis and pie.

“It’s a place where you can get a really elevated meal for a good price, and a comfortable atmosphere where anybody and everybody is welcome,” said owner and chef Dustin Diolio, who grew up in southern Maine and returned about five years ago to buy a home on Verona Island.

Diolio says he has been cooking food for most of his life, making homemade pasta with his father at a young age, and eventually working as a sous-chef at a Spanish tapas restaurant in California.

The name of his new Bucksport restaurant comes from his tendency to call most people “buddy.” A tagline on its sign — “Four Legs are Better than Two” — hints at the fact that guests are also welcome to bring their dogs. A sliding glass door at the back of the establishment offers views of the river and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.

The Friar’s Brewhouse Tap Room closed last year after the death of Brother Donald Paul Martel , a Franciscan friar, chef and brewer.

Diolio acknowledged he has big shoes to fill. Although My Buddy’s Place has just eight tables and seven bar seats, he said, “It does provide a lot of entertainment, as it has in the past.”

He added, “I’ve always loved the Friar’s spot. It became available, and I was very persistent, and here we are.”

My Buddy’s Place is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and for brunch on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.