After welcoming guests to Topside Inn for almost 11 years, owners Mark Osborn and Buzz Makarewicz sold the Inn and three other properties to SB Management, LLC of Wells on April 18. The other properties include a staff house on Eastern Avenue, a residence on Greenleaf Avenue and Mid-Town Motel. 

"We loved what we did but after having a hospitality business for 22 years, we're ready to have some time in the summer," Osborn told the Register. "We're looking to enjoy all the things there are to enjoy and time is the most valuable commodity." Osborn purchased The Thistle Inn in 2003 and sold it in 2006. 

He and Makarewicz will continue to reside in Boothbay Harbor where they are both active in the community. Osborn serves as a selectman and is chair-elect of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens' board of directors; Makarewicz serves as vice president of Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library's board of trustees. 

The couple bought the Inn in August 2014 from Ed McDermott and Brian Lamb, who also owned the property for 11 years. Osborn and Makarewicz bought Mid-Town Motel in 2022. 

Asked about the sale, Osborn said it was never an official listing. There were some interested parties who inquired during the winter and "a deal came together faster than we thought."

SB Management, LLC President Paul Patel explained why his company bought the inn. "We have focused on mom and pop locally owned and operated hotels and a luxury boutique hotel was lacking in our portfolio." He added, Lark Hospitality will continue to manage the property. "There will be no change in terms of operations." He said the general manager is a local resident. "We'll use our expertise in marketing to market the property to people who don't know about it."

Osborn and Makarewicz said the continuity is comforting. "We made friends with so many guests, we will miss them." Last year, for the fourth year in a row, Topside Inn was voted among the top 10 Boutique Hotels in the U.S. on Tripadvisors.com's "Best of the Best Traveler's Choice Awards." Osborn and Makarewicz received Maine Hospitality's Innkeepers of the Year award in 2020.   

Will they miss the Inn? Osborn explained there's no romance in running an inn. "When people ask us how we can leave such a special place, I remind them that the inn is not our home, it is like being in a beautiful palace but we are the butlers." Case in point, he is teaching Topside's staff how to tend to the chickens on the property. 

As for future plans, Osborn said, "We're trying not to make too many plans yet. We are so looking forward to staying up past 8 p.m." 

Topside Inn opens for guests May 1.