Hangar Pizza expands business in Patten

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
SERVING UP MEALS — The Hangar Pizza in Patten has been serving up pizza, sandwiches and various home-cooked specials for about four and a half years. Checking an order are, from left, Brianna Landry, Sarah Chong and owner Jeanne Morse.
Popular eatery adds bounce house, water slide to establishment
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    PATTEN — Coming up with new ideas to lure people into your business is one of the keys to success during these trying economic times.
    Jeanne Morse, owner of the Hangar Pizza, is hoping she has come up with an interesting twist to her popular eatery that will draw more families to her eatery located on 53 North Road (also known as Route 11). Morse recently purchased two giant inflatable fun houses that can be rented out for children’s birthday parties or other family events.
    “There really isn’t a lot in the area for kids to do, so I figured I would try this,” she said. “Our fly-in event is coming up and we always had one small fun house for that, so I figured I would buy two large ones as well, instead of renting.”
    One of the fun houses is a giant slide, which can be hooked up with water to make it a water slide. The other is a giant bounce house with a slide on the side.
    During Patten Pioneer Days, which are going on now through Saturday, Aug. 13, use of the bounce houses will be free to all children in the area. The houses will be available to reserve for private functions on site and potentially at people’s homes if there is interest. She plans to charge $45 for an hour; $75 for two hours; and $100 for three hours for groups to use the fun houses. People can reserve the fun houses and will be the only ones allowed to use them during their reservation period.
    One adult will have to take responsibility for watching the children while they are in use, as no employees of the Hangar will be available to fill that role, Morse said.
    The state had to inspect the two fun houses for safety purposes, she said. She also had to take out an additional insurance policy in the event a person gets injured.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
HAVING FUN — Nicole and Tanner Morse of Patten try out one of two new giant inflatable fun houses that are available at the Hangar Pizza. The two are grandchildren of owner Jeanne Morse.
    Morse said she hopes people will choose to book birthday parties at the Hangar, reserving both the fun houses and the booths for their party. She also plans to tie their use into their upcoming “Fly-In” event.
    “This year will be our 10th annual Fly-In August 12-14,” she said. “We had one, non-commercial grade bounce house, but I wanted to buy two large, commercial grade, fun houses. I thought if we went a little bit bigger and better quality, we could get more use out of them throughout the summer.”
    This year, the fly-in will serve as a fundraiser in memory of Gary Campbell, a childhood friend of Craig Morse who died in March. The Hangar is selling commemorative T-shirts with proceeds going to cancer research. Thus far 170 shirts have been pre-ordered, with more expected to be sold during Patten Pioneer Days.
    The Hangar offers all of the traditional pizzeria-style foods such as subs, salads, burgers and fries. Morse also does a home-cooked special, with her area of expertise being chicken dishes. The also bake all of their own bread.
    “I make all my own dishes so it’s truly home-made,” she said. 
    The Hangar’s shaved steak sub is its No. 1 sandwich seller and rightfully so as it’s a succulent combination of lean shaved steak mixed with onions, green peppers and cheese served on a large toasted sub roll. Pizzas, however, are the most popular, with the BLT pizza being one of the specialty pies offered.
    “The older customers come in for the home-baked specials,” Morse said.
    She employs five part-time workers. Her property features ATV and snow sled trails, which has prompted many individuals to stop while out on a ride. Morse said she also sees a number of customers from the Fort Kent area who are traveling either to or from Bangor that make a pit stop in Patten for a bite to eat.
    The eatery is located on family-owned land that has served many purposes over the years. It once served as a cow farm and later a potato farm before Morse and her husband, Craig, took it over and turned it into a recreational airstrip and eating establishment. The east-west runway is 2,300 feet long, while another north-south runway is 2,000 feet long. The grass runways are used for light aircraft.
    “My husband used to be a flight instructor,” Morse explained. “He has about eight planes in three separate hangars. Over the last few years, with the price of gas the way it is, there hasn’t been a lot of flying going on.”
    Occasionally, Morse said she gets some customers who fly up to Patten from Bar Harbor and Old Town in their recreational aircrafts.
    “They call it a $75 burger,” she said. “It just gives them a destination to fly to.”
    For more information on reserving the funhouses, call the Hangar at 528-2855 or Morse’s personal line at 528-2104.
    “I know bounce houses are popular, but personally, I always liked to slide,” Morse said. “I’m just hoping to get enough use out of them over the next few years to say it was all worthwhile. If it doesn’t, well we have four grandkids who will have an awfully lot of fun with them.”