Iconic seafood restaurant in Scarborough has closed

Bayley's Seafood Restaurant in Scarborough Closes After 30-Year Run

A beloved Scarborough seafood spot has served its last meal. Bayley's Seafood Restaurant, a fixture of the Pine Point community for three decades, closed its doors on August 20.

The restaurant, located at 165 Pine Point Road, announced the closure in a Facebook post titled "A Difficult Goodbye." In the message, the Bayley family expressed gratitude to patrons who had supported the business over the years, writing that the experience had been "an incredibly meaningful chapter."

Owner April Bayley confirmed the shutdown by phone and said the decision stemmed from a combination of mounting challenges. Chief among them were difficulties hiring staff, rising operating costs, including insurance, increased competition from nearby establishments, and complications in sourcing local seafood.

"It was tough," April Bayley said.

The restaurant's roots trace back to 1995, when it was founded by her father, Stanley Bayley, and his wife, Nancy Bayley. Stanley Bayley, a fisherman by trade, brought with him an in-house supply of fresh seafood that gave the restaurant a distinctive edge. He died approximately five years ago, and the business temporarily shuttered in the aftermath. During that closure, a pipe froze and ruptured, destroying the kitchen.

April Bayley eventually decided to reopen the restaurant alongside her sister-in-law, Erica Bayley, driven by a desire to honor her father's legacy. "We just thought we'd do it for dad," she said. "We just figured maybe try to get it going again, which was crazy, because everything (in the restaurant business) is so different now."

The pair operated the restaurant for roughly a year before deciding to close permanently.

Despite the difficulty of the decision, April Bayley said she feels at peace with the outcome. "It's all right though," she said. "Dad would have been proud."

Bayley's Seafood was known for a casual menu of Maine coastal staples, including fried clams, fried haddock dinners, lobster dinners, and fisherman's platters. For many in the area, it was considered an institution in the Pine Point neighborhood.

While the seafood restaurant has closed, the Bayley family's presence in Scarborough continues through several other businesses owned by extended family members Vincent Clough and his wife Susan Bayley. Those include Bayley's Lobster Pound, The Bait Shed, Stern Seafood Restaurant, and Bayley's Campground Resort, all of which remain open.

The closure marks the end of an era for Pine Point, where the restaurant had been a gathering place for locals and visitors alike for generations.