MAINE CABIN MASTERS: 'WE NEVER THOUGHT WE'D BE TV STARS'

THE SMALL-TOWN BUILDERS GAINED A DEVOTED FOLLOWING FIXING UP RAMSHACKLE CABINS ON THE MAGNOLIA NETWORK. NOW THEY'RE USING THEIR NEWFOUND FAME TO LIFT UP THEIR HOMETOWN-VACATIONLAND'S LATEST HOT SPOT

- MACKENZIE SCHMIDT

Every weekend in the summer, thousands of cars snake up Maine's highway 1 toward the coastal destinations of Bar Harbor, Rockport and Belfast. People used to drive right past the small town of Manchester. But these days a lot of them are turning off there.

Manchester (population 2,500) is the home base of Maine Cabin Masters, the hit renovation show that follows five charming, rough-around-the-edges local builders who restore dilapidated family "camps" (as vacation cabins are known in the region), often in remote locations and amid treacherous weather conditions. The series' success has put the town on the map and made stars of contractor Chase Morrill, his decorator sister Ashley, her husband, Ryan Eldridge, and their childhood friends Matt "Dixie" Dix and Jared "Jedi" Baker.

On any weekend morning the parking lot of their Kennebec Cabin Company headquarters on Western Avenue is packed with the cars and RVs of fans who have traveled from around the country to visit their store and its neighboring bar the Woodshed and, hopefully, to catch a glimpse of the stars themselves. "They come from all over. We've seen Alaska plates, Hawaii," says Ryan, 48.

"A month ago there was a bus of women from Africa, Brazil, three or four different places," adds Jedi, 44. "They had gotten together to come in hopes of seeing one of us." (They succeeded.) Last summer the gang hosted four lobster bakes with 350 tickets each that all sold out in a day. During the events, each of the stars was stationed at an individual booth with a Sharpie in hand, ready to sign autographs and take selfies for a line of fans that stretched down the block.