With Maine’s tourist-filled summers on its way, the local job opportunities for teenagers remains bottomless.

Students here at BHS have been applying to many local businesses in hopes for a part time summer job with a decent pay.  However, out of all the places hiring, Huot’s Seafood Restaurant in Camp Ellis has been a go-to for many students.

For junior Chanelle Chretien, this seafood joint has treated her very fairly as an employee and that is what keeps her working there. She will be returning for her second summer this year.

“I enjoy working there because of how great of an environment it is,” said Chretien. “Everyone is friendly, and there is never a dull moment.  I always enjoy going in to start my shift.”

Senior Joey Curit also finds this restaurant to have a friendly work environment, mostly because the other employees are his actual friends.  

“I am pretty many friends with everyone I work with which I really like,” said Curit. “It is great working with people I get along with because my shifts go by fast.”

This friendly environment is not the only thing Curit enjoys about his work. He also finds that they are flexible with hours which helps for a lot of three-sport athletes in our school.

“I play football and baseball which both run into the summer,” said Curit. “So whenever I have practice or a game, I just let them know and they make sure I can get the shift off.”

The owner of Huot’s, Denise Gelinas has kids of her own who attended Biddeford High School as well. She remembers how busy their schedules were and tries to help her young employees with their fit everything in.

“We do hire extra people, so we have the flexibility to accommodate everyone’s busy schedule with vacations, family time, and summer sports schedule,” said Gelinas. “These dates are requested in advance, so we know what to expect from each employee throughout the season, and our employees also know that requested dates need to be submitted before the next schedule is made.”

Both Chretien and Curit work the window and do some prep work during their shifts. They find it easy to keep busy, especially on busy days.

“Usually I take people’s orders, which is my favorite part of the job,” said Chretien. “I like talking to them and just being sociable.”

Although Chretien does enjoy working the window, she does wish to eventually wait on tables due to its benefits.

“I hope, that in a couple years, I will move up to waitressing tables,” said Chretien. “I will be able to talk to more customers, and also waitresses receive really good tips. The tips alone make me want to wait tables.”

Huot’s doesn’t just offer jobs for servers, but also have a few positions for hosting available as well. Senior Faith Tourigny worked as a hostess last year and found it to be enjoyable.  

“[As a hostess], I would usually greet people, seat them, and help the waitresses clean off their tables,” said Tourigny. “They offer such an awesome atmosphere.”

A handful of Huot’s employees can agree that this workplace is delightful. Tourigny believes that this atmosphere is really controlled by the owner herself.

“She is probably the best boss I have ever worked with,” said Tourigny. “She is fun and gets everything done. Even during a rush hour, she takes control and calms everyone down and helps us all get through the rush which is nice.”

Gelinas wants her restaurant to be a good place for employees to do their job and make a good pay. She wants her employees to work hard, but have some fun while doing so.

“The key to this is both Gerry [my husband] and I and the other people in charge never talk down to our employees,” said Gelinas. “Everyone is treated equally.  The other big factor is we both don’t just delegate but work alongside all of our employees   We are very hands on owners throughout the season.”

Gelinas has hired many Biddeford students throughout the years to help work the restaurant, including a local celebrity whose jerseys hangs up near the bar area.

“We are proud to say that Huot’s Seafood Restaurant was Brian Dumoulin’s first place of employment when he was 15-years-old,” said Gelinas. “Our former employee was playing side-by-side with Sidney Crosby.  What are the chances?”

Even today, Dumoulin stays in touch with his first boss on how things are going for him. In fact, when he won the Stanley Cup he brought the cup back to the restaurant to celebrate.

“He always told us if he would win the Stanley Cup that he would bring it to Huot’s” said, Gelinas. “When the Penguins finally won the Stanley Cup, Brian texted  Gerry and said, ‘The Stanley Cup is coming to Huot’s.’  Who would have thought this would actually come true?  I had congratulated  him as well and he confirmed with, ‘The Stanley Cup is coming to Huot’s and I am eating chowder out of it.’”

Alongside with Dumoulin, Chretien believes this restaurant offers something special to its employees.

“Huot’s is a place where everyone gets along,” said Chretien.  “It is a place where memories are made and good food is served. I don’t think there is anything better than being exciting to clock into work.”