New frozen yogurt shop opens in Camden

Mon, 09/30/2013 - 5:15pm

Kay Stephens

From left, Spoon Maine proprietors Erin Donovan and Maria Anderson. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

The toppings bar at Spoon Maine. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Spoon Maine is located at 44 Bay View St. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Self-serve frozen yogurt dispensers at Spoon Maine. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Spoon Maine boasts a cozy hang out space. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

From left, Spoon Maine proprietors Erin Donovan and Maria Anderson. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

The toppings bar at Spoon Maine. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Spoon Maine is located at 44 Bay View St. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Self-serve frozen yogurt dispensers at Spoon Maine. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

Spoon Maine boasts a cozy hang out space. (Photo by Kay Stephens)

CAMDEN — Spoon Maine, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop just opened this month at 44 Bay View St. in Camden (opposite the street-side parking lot of The Waterfront Restaurant). Erin Donovan and Maria Anderson are the proprietors of this whimsical, little shop and along with comfortable gathering areas to sit and chill (literally), they also have an inviting "topping bar" with everything that could possibly go with their frozen yogurt.

Here are some things you didn't know about Spoon Maine

• Tell us a bit about you two and why you decided to go into business together?

Maria is a transplant from Washington, D.C., where she managed a busy medical office. She is the mother of two teenagers, who keep her as a spectator of plays and soccer games. Erin moved here from New York City. She is a mother of three small children and a writer and comedian. We opened a frozen yogurt store because we were so tired of wondering who else would do it, so that we could eat it.

• What’s the 411 on your flavors?

We searched across the country from New York to Arizona until we found a couple of different frozen yogurt brands that would deliver taste and smoothness while using natural sugars and flavors. We will change the flavors every few days, though vanilla and chocolate will likely always remain on the board. Our toppings come from local and regional providers. It was important to us to get as many Maine-made products and distributors as we could.

• Do you have any special promotions or events coming up this fall/winter to entice people in to have frozen treats?

We will have a weekly Shovel Our Parking Lot Challenge that we hope draws the whole town. :) We will eventually be adding all kinds of spontaneous fun in the way of trivia nights, movie nights, TV premieres, post-game (basketball and football) celebrations, birthday parties, and more.

• Do you have Wi-Fi? If so, what's the best way to eat frozen yogurt with one hand on the keyboard?

We do have Wi-Fi. We are presently interviewing Personal Spooners who will spoon yogurt into the busy typist's mouth. Until we find those people, we recommend that you do not try to multi-task while eating our yogurt.

• Your toppings bar is a sweet-lovers dream. What special topping flavor profiles would you build say, for:

The harried mom who has 10 minutes to chill before she picks up her kids.

- Pistachio Yogurt with Lucy's Toffee Granola, Chia Seeds and a drizzle of Dark Chocolate Sauce.

The guy who's just been dumped...by text message.

- Chocolate Yogurt with Brownie Bites, Reese's Cups, Caramel Cups and Chocolate Sauce. And we can handle phone disposal with the nightly trash.

The hyper-hypo child (SNL reference) who probably shouldn't have a lot of sugar.

- Our Only 8 (low sugar, low dairy) yogurt of the day topped with blueberries, strawberries and granola. And a helmet.

The up-from-NYC-dude who's taking a break between CIFF films.

- The Tart Mango with Salted Caramel Sauce. And a man purse big enough to sneak it into the theater.

• Unless you're a restaurant or bar in Camden, there aren't many places open late at night — (except for you.) How are you hoping to use this space after 5 p.m.?

We will be open until 9 p.m. during the week and likely 10 p.m. on weekends. We want this area to have a destination place after it gets dark...at 2:30 p.m.

For more information, follow Spoon Maine on Facebook.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com