Editorial & Corrections Policy
Last updated:
This page explains how we determine a restaurant's status, how we source it, and how to tell us if something's wrong.
Why this matters
A restaurant's open/closed status is the single most consequential fact we publish about it — it can affect a real business's reputation and a reader's plans. We research every record until we know the answer, and we publish a status only once we can point to a specific, dated source for it — never a guess, and never left undated.
How we source a status
Primary source: the business's own current website or social media account, checked directly. Secondary source: a named, credible outlet — local news, an official government or health record, or a platform listing (Google, Yelp, OpenTable and similar). Every published status names its source and the date we checked it, visible on the page itself next to the status.
We never publish a bare, undated "Closed" or "Open" with no source. If all we have is a stale or absent signal, the page says the status is unknown rather than guessing. We also never use language that implies why a business closed (misconduct, fraud, health-code failure) unless that reason is directly, verifiably sourced to an official record — and even then, we attribute it explicitly to that record rather than stating it as our own conclusion. We don't use words like "failed," "went under," "scammed," or "shut down in disgrace."
How to request a correction
Every restaurant page has a "See something wrong? Tell us" link. Tell us:
- Which restaurant/page
- What's wrong
- What you believe the correct information is
- A source or evidence, if you have one (a link, a photo, a name we can look up) — optional, but it helps us verify faster
- Your contact info, if you'd like a reply (optional)
Email us directly at [email protected], or use the corrections page — both reach the same inbox.
What happens next
We acknowledge correction requests within 7 days and aim to verify and resolve them within 30 days. If we can confirm the correction, we update the page and its "last verified" date.
How we correct
When we correct a factual error, we update the page and its "last verified" date. We don't silently rewrite a previously-published status without a visible trail — the page's date stamp reflects the most recent correction, so a business owner or reader can see when and that it changed. If a correction is significant (e.g., we had a business's status wrong in a way that could have affected someone's plans or the business's reputation), we treat that as a priority fix, not a queued item.
A note on our own accountability
Maine law lets a publisher who promptly and prominently retracts a mistaken statement reduce (though not eliminate) potential damages in a defamation claim (14 M.R.S. § 153) — one more reason a fast, good-faith correction process isn't just good practice, it's how we intend to run this site. This doesn't change how carefully we source a claim before publishing it in the first place.