Mark Osborn and Buzz Makarewicz, owners of the Topside Inn in Boothbay Harbor, are HospitalityMaine's Innkeepers of the Year. The pair receives the award March 31 at a gala at the DoubleTree Hotel in South Portland. 

"We are grateful we have been recognized by HospitalityMaine and our peers for this award," said Osborn. "We work very hard, as we all do in hospitality, and have achieved many of our goals with the business and it is great to be recognized for what we have accomplished."

They were selected through a nomination process from the trade group's membership.

"There are many successful innkeepers operating beautiful, historic properties across the state of Maine. However, in 2020 Mark Osborn and Buzz Makarewicz stand above them all and represent the best of the best," said HospitalityMaine's CEO and President Steve Hewins. 

The couple purchased the inn in 2014 and have spent more than $1,000,000 on improvements to the 1865 sea captain's home and property, which sits on the highest point in the harbor. Since then, they have almost tripled revenue, hired two full-time local employees and additional part-time employees during the summer. The Topside has become known for gourmet breakfasts, leading the couple to release a cookbook in December: “Over Easy & Over the Top, recipes from the kitchen of Topside Inn." ​

Osborn is the former owner of The Thistle Inn and general manager of Linekin Bay Resort in Boothbay. Makarewicz holds a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant, travel administration from UMass Amherst and worked in the wellness industry. In addition to running the inn, they launched a fundraising program for their local food pantry. 

To the innkeepers, the award gives them "a reason to pause and reflect on the impact we have on our state and community. It is inspiring to us to see how an independently owned, relatively small, business can have such a positive impact."  

HospitalityMaine’s annual Gala is March 31 at the DoubleTree Hotel in South Portland. Tickets are on sale now here, https://www.hospitalitymaine.com/page/Gala_Mainpage