FORT KENT, Maine — Many people in the St. John Valley were devastated when popular restaurant owner Sami Manirath, 52, died earlier this month after a crash in which her vehicle rolled into the Fish River.
But employees at her two restaurants hope to alleviate some of the community’s sense of loss. They plan to keep the restaurants open, with the same staff, for now.
Sami’s Cuisine and Cocktails serves Asian, Italian, and American food. It has locations in both Madawaska and Fort Kent. The Madawaska location is open. The Fort Kent restaurant is temporarily closed, but is set to reopen within the next week.
Benjamin Lopez, kitchen manager for the Madawaska location, said on Thursday that the restaurants will remain open in Manirath’s honor.
“We’re going to make this a success, exactly how she wanted it,” Lopez said.
He said a celebration of life is planned for Manirath, who had lived in the area for only a couple of years, but a date has not been set.
Lopez and Rena DeBottis, the front-of-house manager, are overseeing the Madawaska location. Manirath’s fiance, Jeffrey Zewe, now owns the business.
Zewe is in New York assisting with funeral arrangements. Lopez said he did not have contact information for Zewe.
“RIght now he’s out of town,” he said, “so we’re not bothering him.”
Manirath also ran Club Sami’s, a dance and night club, out of the Fort Kent location. Lopez said certain aspects of the Fort Kent operation, such as whether Club Sami’s will continue, will not be determined until the Fort Kent restaurant reopens, however he said employees at both locations will all be able to keep their jobs.
Each restaurant has roughly a dozen employees.
“We’re even utilizing the Fort Kent people to come in a couple hours [to Madawaska] so they’re not losing any money or anything like that,” Lopez said.
Despite her hectic schedule, Lopez said Manirath always showed genuine concern for him and other employees.
“She was a go-getter,” he said. “She was doing 5,000 things at once, but yet she still had the time to sit down with each and every one of us to see how we’re doing, even outside the restaurant. She always wanted to make sure that we were okay.”
Like many others who knew her, Lopez said Manirath brought energy and positivity wherever she went.
“She was like a mom to us,” he said. “As soon as she walked in the door, it just changed the mood. She uplifted everyone with her smile, and it just radiated to everyone else.”
