RUMFORD — Black Mountain of Rumford is putting the finishing touches on its second-floor expansion after receiving a grant from the Allagash Brewing Company Funding Committee, marketing director Paige Carter said.

Carter said Roger Arsenault, president of the Black Mountain Board of Directors, was responsible for applying for the grant.

“One of our regular skiers and former Rumford resident Eric Meader also works for Allagash Brewing Co., and he approached us awhile back about serving Allagash on tap,” Carter said. “We ended up putting it on tap, and it became one of our more popular selections. He said to contact him if there was ever anything we needed help with,” he said.

“After we lost our funding and reopened, we realized one of the major upgrades we wanted to make was in seating,” Carter said. “Whenever we had a busy night or a special event, our second floor was completely crowded. We figured a little extra seating would go a long way.”

Carter said Meader mentioned that Allagash Brewing Co. had a funding committee that awarded money to different organizations across the state.

“Roger’s been very involved in the process,” Carter said of Arsenault. “He’s sort of spearheading the entire thing.”

Meader, who is a member of the Allagash Brewing Company Funding Committee, said he approached committee Chairperson Deedee Germain about funding Black Mountain.

“There are eight of us on the committee, and each of us comes to the table with organizations that we feel deserve to be funded,” Meader said. “I’ve always felt like Black Mountain was my second home, so after I heard about what they were going through last year, with their funding, I felt like it made the most sense to go with them.”

Meader said he was not sure how much the grant was for, but that all eight committee members agreed that Black Mountain should be funded.

The floor expansion was designed by Jim Reuter of Smith Reuter Lull Architects, and as of Friday, Carter said the work was nearly finished.

“We expanded the floor of the bar, toward the back wall of the second floor,” Carter said. “We extended back a little bit so we could fit more tables and chairs. We’re guessing that we’ll have room for about 50 extra seats.”

With the seating expansion nearly complete, Carter said that Black Mountain is hoping to focus its efforts on its snowmaking system.

“Our long-term goal is to completely upgrade our snowmaking machines, but that’s a little more pricey than floor expansion,” Carter said.

mdaigle@sunjournal.com