WISCASSET—Ironically, Wiscasset’s first brewery is named after the nearby town 10 minutes away, but there’s a story for that. On Route 1, opposite from the Shaw’s Supermarket, Bath Ale Works, co-owned by Pepper and Jean Powers opened its brewery and taproom Memorial Day Weekend.

Powers, who arguably has one of the coolest brewer’s names ever, said, “We had the idea to open up in Bath several years ago, but we never found the right building at the right time, and then when we did, we waited two years to move into a building that ultimately never got built.”

Powers, who has home-brewed since 1993, decided to set his sights on the property at 681 Bath Road, a division of the adjacent Family Dollar Store.

“The Midcoast has a rich, maritime heritage with shipbuilding, not just with Bath Iron Works, and we wanted the brewery name to reflect that kind of Midcoast nautical feel,” he said.

The vacant building was a challenge to transform. When other tasting rooms were shut down due to the social-distancing and capacity mandates last year, Powers and his crew used the time to build out the entire brewery, including a cold storage room, a lab, and a serving cooler.

“For everyone else, it was a hard time, but for us, the timing was a blessing in disguise,” he said.

The spacious taproom doesn’t have the deliberately industrial feel as many Portland breweries do, but it feels like there’s a lot of room to spread out. It offers numerous multiple sitting areas for parties of two and four, a game shelf, and a central bar. It is kid- and dog-friendly and patrons are welcome to bring in their own food. O

n weekends, the confidently-named food truck “Shut Up and Eat It” is parked in the lot, serving homemade chili corn dogs, wings, pizza, and other pub-style food.

“Sometimes I have to explain to customers what the food truck name means— that I’m not yelling at them,” joked taproom manager Tanya Gamache.

The taproom also offers “Galley Boxes,” which are mini Ploughman’s lunches with cheese, meat, bread, pickles and roasted nuts.

Powers, who favors traditional English and Continental styles, brews two days a week. Currently, the Down Easter Pale Ale, their flagship beer is a lightly-hopped, well-balanced brew and the Shakedown Cruise Ale (which is 8.1% ABV but you’d never know it given its light, floral taste). But his Steel Cutter Stout, named after common work activity at Bath Iron Works, is worth exploring. Even beer lovers who tend to gravitate to the lagers and lighter beers will appreciate this clean, tasty black ale. One sip and a cascade of flavors hit the palate finishing with a“nicely roasted barley bite.”

This summer, Bath Ale Works, is building out its courtyard behind the taproom, set in a heavily wooded and secluded area, where patrons can enjoy a brew with family or friends and play cornhole. They’re hosting their first cornhole tournament coming up Friday, June 18.

More info can be found at the Bath Ale Works website and Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WALDOBORO—Generation Z, the generation born into a world with vast technological advances, is one of the most tech-savvy populations in the U.S. And Owen Weber, a junior at Medomak Valley H.S. had all of the publishing tools at his disposal when he first conceived of a story that would eventually turn into a novella.

However, the real mark of a writer is not just using internet tools; it comes down to imagination, dedication, and the willingness to go through the process.

Last summer, Weber, 16, had a 2 a.m. epiphany about the characters and typed out down some ideas on the Notes app on his phone.

He began to work out the structure on a computer.

“I started to work on it last summer and got in touch with my English teacher, Ms. Ennamorati, from last year and she started helping me revise it with conflict and more depth to the plot,” he said. “If I were sitting down and thinking about it, nothing would come to me, but when I least expected it, doing chores, great ideas would come to me. A lot of it was just managing the new ideas as they came in and trying to implement them.”

With Ms. Ennamorati’s help on editing, he self-published it through Amazon this past April. Self-publishing takes a whole different skill set, one he said, he figured out for himself.

The title of the novella is The New Civilization of Kaets and the first chapter focuses on a distant narrator, who describes the civilization the way Rod Serling used to open every Twilight Zone episode, foreshadowing the speculative story that was about to unfold.

The first part of the novella is fantasy and the rest focuses on grounded fiction featuring a sixth-grader, Johnny, who struggles with academics and his mother’s perception of him. Without giving away spoilers, the fantasy interweaves back into Johnny’s narrative.

In Weber’s own words: “In short, it is both a story about teamwork/laziness, and realizing that intelligence is not defined strictly by your academic abilities. His worth is not determined by his academic performance and in the end, his mother sees that he has so many other talents.”

Weber, whose legal first name is John Own, points out that this is not an autobiographical novella. 

“I just came up with Johnny because then I didn’t have to think of another name,” he joked.

That said, conjuring up the conflict that needed to occur within Johnny, Weber had to do some personal excavation to come up with the dialogue where Johnny’s mother repeatedly expresses disappointment in him.  “I hold myself to a really high standard and when I don’t do something quite right, there’s some disappointment,” he said. “I’m a perfectionist, for sure. COVID-19 allowed me to step back a bit and tell myself it’s okay to fall behind this incredibly high bar I set for myself. I just try not to let it take over.”

The main theme of the novella is that for a teenager, there are more interests than just school that society should hold equally in high regard.

“There are more parts of intelligence than math, science, and reading,” he said. “I see it in P.E. Kids who might not be doing great in school are just killing it out there. Or kids who benefit from doing art.”

Weber, while highly creative in the arts, is also one of those rare people blessed with a propensity toward math and science.

“I’m looking at some colleges right now,” he said. “If I were to pick any school right now, it would be Brown University, in math and statistics.”

Weber is working on a full-length novel next, plotting it out through the old-fashioned notebook.

“This one iss about a protagonist, who is a bad person from birth; but in his journey, realizing that he isn’t as bad as he thought; he can be a good person,” he said. “It plays with the theme that there is a little good in every bad and a little bad in every good.”

To learn more about Weber’s book visit The New Civilization of Kaets.

Hail To The Rad Kids is an ongoing feature highlighting teens in the Midcoast with a special talent or in the arts.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Last year at this time, we Mainers really got into the “staycation,” didn’t we? We explored the state parks, hit the beaches, and checked out little slices of Heaven in our own Pine Tree State.

And guess what? This summer, we’re doing it all over again. Day Trips is a new series from Penobscot Bay Pilot that will make you smack your forehead and say, “I’ve been living here for [insert number] many years! How did I not know this was here?”

About an hour and 40 minutes from the Midcoast is the little town of Gray, Maine, a town that is anything but dismal and gray. A short blast over from the magnificent Sebago Lake State Park, Gray has three unique destinations that deserve a road trip.

Pineland Public Reserve and Trailhead

On the GPS, if you plug in Depot Road, New Gloucester, Maine, you’ll find a sign at the entrance with a small lot that can probably fit four or five cars. This “pleasing landscape of forests over rolling hills” is a 3.2-mile network with a north and south loop and an easy, moderate hike for day-trippers who want the experience, but not a strenuous slog. There’s no fee to walk in but best to come on a weekday, as the lot gets filled up on the weekends from between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

About a quarter of a mile in, this undeveloped forest opens up into a wide, hilly expanse and once you’re there, the air quality takes on a floral note, almost a combination of honey and the slight intermingling of pine. A stream runs alongside the first mile, and at a certain point, the trail intersects with a smooth shelf of boulders into a waterfall. Hike with a guidebook and you’ll see Maine blackgum tupelo trees, pines, oaks, and hemlocks. Find more info here.

Birchwood Brewing Co.

Birchwood Brewing Co. was first established in 2017 by friends Andrew Sanborn and Wesley Hewey, who happened to work at a fabrication shop on tanks and equipment for local breweries. They opened their first taproom location in Gray in 2019. In a mini-mall parking area, the spacious brewery has a friendly pool-room feel with exposed brewery equipment in the corner.

Their specialty centers around American ales and lagers, but the dozen beers on tap run the gamut from a pilsner to a Peanut Butter Stout, with plenty of selections for every beer drinker's taste, including a cider and their signature “Hard Water,” a home-brewed seltzer with multiple flavors for non-beer drinkers.

They may be one of the very few Maine breweries to break into this seltzer game, which has been on trend for the last few years. I had the Numero Uno Pale Ale (5.6% ABV) which was crisp, clean and balanced—very refreshing!

Plan on having lunch here after your hike because the menu is hearty with comfort food. With small apps such as soft pretzels and mac and cheese bites, this place is family-friendly for the kids. The grilled paninis and wraps are filling. I had the BLT with Havarti cheese and it was so big I had to take half home.

Maine Wildlife Park

This hidden gem of a park is a wildlife enthusiast’s dream. The park, located on Route 26A, provides a permanent home to more than 30 species of native Maine wildlife that cannot be returned back to their natural habitats because they were either injured, orphaned, or illegally raised in captivity.

Photographers, children, and nature lovers will particularly love their time at this park, as it is a sanctuary to animals one might not ever get to see up close such as Bald Eagles, moose, and coyotes. With nature trails, a fish hatchery, a snack shack, and occasionally a food truck on special weekends, you might have to go back more than once.

See the list of 30-plus animals who are protected here. The park offers special weekend programs that feature wildlife presentations and events, weekday wildlife and conservation education programs, as well as guided tours of the park led by trained volunteers. Reservations are no longer needed to get into the park but Covid-19 precautions are still in place. For more information visit: Maine Wildlife Park

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—If you’re in Camden these next couple of weeks, take the time to see what’s written on storefront windows. “Poetry on Windows,” a project of the Stewardship Educational Alliance, is a public display of poems by students from local public, private, and independent schools as well as from prize-winning adult poets. Inspired by United Nations World Ocean’s Day, the project collected original poetry about nature, watersheds, and the ocean and will be on display until June 19.

For the second year, POW has provided some powerful reflections from pre-school to 7th grade students, according to project coordinator and S.E.A. board member Elphie Owen.

“This is the voice of the next generation,” said Owen. “Some of these poems from the younger children are very sweet and as you start to see some of the longer poetry from the older students, it takes on a bit more of an edge.”

As most adults don’t have access to the thoughts and perspectives of children, unless they have children themselves, it’s a way for visitors and the community to get a real understanding of how Generation Alpha (defined as being born 2010 to 2024) perceives the world they’ve inherited. A generation born into a climate crisis, Generation Alpha is deeply concerned about their future. A 2019 report from Wunderman Thompson Commerce found that 67% of 6-to-9-year-olds say that saving the planet will be the central mission of their careers in the future.

“It’s a wonderful way for kids to express their feelings about the environment,” said board member Barbara Lawrence. “They are the future and our environment needs help.”

The majority of the poems can be found on Washington Street, Main Street, and Bayview Street. Maine’s poet Laureate Stu Kestenbaum, whose poem is on the window of Page Gallery, also led a ZOOM reading from the Camden Public Library. Poet Jason Grunstrum-Whitney is a Bear Clan member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe and his poem is on the Zoot Cafe window.

A Scavenger Hunt with prizes will also be part of POW! Find more details on how to participate through S.E.A.’s Facebook page.

Poetry on Windows is sponsored by Camden National Bank, the Bisbee Fund, and Youth Arts.

Stewardship Educational Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, about a year old, whose mission is to work with schools in Camden and Rockport on grant-funded projects that engage students in improving the local environment and watersheds. With nine board members, several of the board members act as liaisons with the schools.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

In a school year that included remote and in-person learning, the graduating seniors from Camden, Rockport, Hope, Appleton, and Lincolnville— the class of 2021—all got together to continue the time-honored march through Camden in caps and gowns on Monday, June 7.

During an unprecedented heatwave in June, dozens of neighbors, friends, and families lined the sidewalks all throughout town, some in lawn chairs, some holding congratulatory balloons, waiting for the moment they saw the Camden police cruiser’s flashing lights as it escorted the seniors down Main Street from the top of the hill.

With bagpiper leading the procession, the march started at 6:30 p.m. and wound through residential neighborhoods, until a half-hour later, it concluded at the Knox Mill Parking Lot at 7 p.m.

Unlike last year’s march, when many in the crowd wore masks —with more than 70 percent of Mainers having received the COVID-19 vaccine—this year saw many unmasked faces in the crowd with big smiles. The seniors marched to the tune of their individual personalities; some with dresses, some with Interact sashes, some with shorts, sunglasses, and Converse sneakers, and some with rainbow flags. The cheering and homemade banners and signs visibly energized the seniors as they walked through a route in town, with many of them smiling and waving back.

Graduation this year will take place on Friday, June 11 at 7 p.m. in Palmer Field (which, in case of rain, will alternatively take place in the Strom Auditorium). For more information visit: CHRHS Graduation Events.

For many long-time outdoor lovers who have been looking forward to camping and hiking this season in Maine, here’s a familiar scenario that occurred during the pandemic last summer no one ever wants to see repeated.

It’s 9 p.m. A campground is now silent, filled with darkened tents with the “Quiet Hours” rule in place, when two trucks loaded with gear come barrelling into the campsite. With truck doors repeatedly slamming over and over, tenters within a mile range have to endure the ruckus of the “Guess what! It’s our first year camping!” crowd as they set up all of their gear.

Bright spotlights shine through people’s tents as they make all kinds of noise getting their tents, canopies, camp chairs, tables, and coolers set up. A Bose speaker is now set up to jam some tunes; people speaking at the top of their lungs like it’s 2 in the afternoon, as they hang out in their own little bubble, oblivious to anyone around them.

Come five in the morning, the same group is up, more doors are slamming as the trucks idle and conversations are at the highest decibel.

Maine’s prevalent woods and waters received a crush of visitors last summer in the likes have never been seen. Despite a pandemic that mandated quarantining from the state until mid-summer, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's (DACF) Bureau of Parks and Lands (BPL) reported that 2020 activity broke all records for recreation visits, which includes day-use and camping.

While the experiences might have been positive for many individuals new to the experience, bad practices negatively impacted the collective experiences of many.  As we reported locally, back in May 2020 “Advice to heed if you don’t want to see your favorite places close down” one of the biggest negatives, according to outdoor experts, was overcrowding trails to the point of having to shut them down.

While recreating in outdoors is a new past-time for some, much of it came without proper outdoor etiquette training, known as the 7 Leave No Trace Principles.

Leave No Trace are simple, backwoods ethics showing courtesy and respect for the outdoors, wildlife, and other campers/hikers by minimizing your outdoor impact.

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare

Do: Make sure you bring everything you need for food, shelter, weather conditions, and cooking and have a designated spot to camp. Be prepared to get there early.

Don’t: Wing it, show up after hours when everyone in the campground is asleep or settled down for the night, or to a spot that doesn’t have a fire ring and make one anyway, damaging the land.

2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces

Do: Stay on designated trails and sites to preserve fragile vegetation and living soil. Keep your tents, traffic routes, and kitchen on high-impact dirt and sandy areas to prevent erosion. Keep tents 200 feet from the water.

Don’t: Camp on grassy areas or hike off-trail areas, which damage the fragile ecosystem.

3. Dispose of Waste Properly

Do: Bring trash bags. Pack every scrap back out; scour the campsite to leave nothing behind. If there are no outhouse facilities, learn to dig a cat hole. Women, always pack out menstrual products.

Don’t: Leave toilet paper in the woods; bury anything that isn’t organic. Never allow a dog to foul a campsite and leave it without a thorough cleaning up.

4. Leave What You Find

Do: Minimize your campsite alterations.  When you leave make it look as though no one has been there.

Don’t: Build makeshift furniture; build cairns, nail tarps to live trees; carve initials; cut boughs; collect vegetation, flowers, rocks, or other natural souvenirs.

5. Minimize Campfire Impacts

Do: Use a camp stove where possible, buy firewood locally or only gather downed firewood and kindling and build in an existing ring. Be aware of the fire danger levels in your area.

Don’t: Ever bring firewood from out of state due to invasive species of insects that can potentially damage Maine’s forests. Never burn plastic or foil in a campfire and leave it.

6. Respect Wildlife

Do: Keep a safe distance between all wild animals, big and small; take long-lens photos, but never selfies for your own safety.

Don’t: Touch, get close to, feed, or pick up wild animals as it stresses them. Never leave food out, because bears who come to rely on human food are killed as “nuisance bears.”

7. Be Considerate of Other Visitors

Do: Remember that the majority of people and long-time campers come to the outdoors for silence and solitude. If you’re in a big group, be mindful of your noise impact on nearby campers.

Don’t: Blast radios, let your pets wander, shout, slam doors, or keep other campers awake past the designated Quiet Hours.

To learn more about Leave No Trace with specific examples, visit: Center for Outdoor Ethics

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ORONO—Getting bogged down by your day-to-day responsibilities? Hop in the car and get out of the Midcoast for a day to explore The Orono Bog Boardwalk. Set the GPS for 54 Tripp Dr, Bangor, ME 04401, the entrance of Bangor City Forest. For some reason, there is no sign at the Forest entrance, so keep a close eye on your destination. There, a short walk leads to a cabin in the woods and an orientation kiosk. To the right of that is the one-mile boardwalk loop trail with seven zones.

The 616-acre Orono Bog is a National, Natural Landmark of Maine and a perfect hike for folks who might have trouble navigating hills, roots, and rougher terrain. The wooden boardwalk is perfectly flat and walkable the entire way with plenty of built-in benches every 200 feet along the way, as well as interpretive stations at each zone to show what kind of forested wetlands, peatlands, vegetation, and wildlife can be seen at each vantage point.

In early summer, wildflowers are still blooming, along with skunk cabbage and cinnamon ferns. Along the walk, the bog opens up into wooded shrub heath, low spruces, scattered dwarf spruce, and Tamarack. Aside from the natural beauty and the serenity of the walk, the site is particularly interesting for its geologic history. Just touching the red, wet bog and its spongy texture will give you an appreciation for this multi-layered ecosystem, which is part of the Caribou Bog complex in Penobscot County, Maine

The 4,200-foot long boardwalk allows hikers to take a left or a right once the forest canopy clears—either way will get you on the loop all the way back to the parking lot.

For more information, visit The Orono Bog Boardwalk Facebook page

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—The retro hobbies of knitting and sewing came roaring back during the pandemic for many people new to the craft, but Julz Larrabee, a sewist in Stockton Springs, has steadily stitching along all of the years, regardless of what’s going on outside her doors.

Her small shop, Julz Makes LLC, recently moved into the former “Maker Space” of Belfast Fiberarts’s expanded retail showroom. Her sewing studio is fittingly the previous site of the Belfast Repair Café, which offers monthly periodic free mending of fabric items, along with electrical and other small repairs. Belfast Fiberarts has recently expanded with 900-square feet of space for Studio Artists and a Maker Space across the hall. Now it is Larrabee’s studio, where she has her sewing machines set up, her grid lined mat, and racks of color-coded spools on the walls.

Larrabee’s interest in this once prolific—now-rare trade —extends back to her childhood. “I learned to crochet and hand-sew first and my mom is very crafty, so I learned many techniques from her,” she said.

As a young adult, Larrabee bought her first sewing machine and began making things for the fun of it. That led to her getting a job managing the Viking Sewing Gallery in Bangor for four years teaching classes on sewing. It took a few stints in the corporate world and other jobs, before she decided to set out on her own and open a shop in 2020.

It’s not just favorite items of clothing that people come to Larrabee to fix.

“Jeans were the big thing for a long time when I first started,” she said. “When word got around with my small business, people came to me to hem or alter items.  I’m currently in the middle of a big slipcover project. Those and I got an order for custom drapes, as well.”

When the pandemic first hit in March, 2020, Larrabee put her skills to good work making fashionable and safe custom masks for people at affordable prices.

“There’s so much satisfaction with making something for yourself,” she said.

When Larrabee, a Gen Xer, grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, there was a trend that revived making one’s own clothes from sewing patterns.

“In the past, for many people, they just didn’t have the financial ability to go out and buy clothes that they wanted; so that’s why they were making their own clothes and it’s definitely come back around as a trend, especially people who are interested in living with more sustainable choices,” she said. “I think that the movement to get away from fast fashion [which are lower-priced mass-produced garments that often get thrown into landfills] has been a big influence.”

Belfast is the perfect home for Larrabee’s new shop.

“The creative spirit here is everywhere here; you meet so many Makers who settle in this town,” she said.

For all of the custom projects she works on, surprisingly it’s the task of mending clothing that gives her the most gratification.

“A young man from Oregon came to me who was only going to be in Maine for a couple of weeks,” she said. “He had this long leather coat that was probably more than 100 years old and the pockets were gone and one sleeve was falling apart and he wanted to know if there was any way I could put it all back together. I’d never done that before, but I was able to do it and when he came back to pick up his coat and saw how well it could be fixed, he was so excited. That’s the kind of thing that I love: when mending something means so much to someone and gives them more time to use the thing they love.”

As a Studio Member of Belfast Fiberarts, her own creations will eventually find a home in the store.

“I’m mostly doing mending and alterations, so any custom items I make to sell, I’ll partner with them to sell in the showroom,” she said.

For more information, find Julz at julzmakes.com as well as her Etsy shop, JulzMakes

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—This is our annual “Welcome back” article to acquaint those who haven’t been around this winter as to what’s open, what’s closed, what's new, and what's happening. Here is your Rockland rundown for the summer.

Downtown Flurry

If Rockland resembled a ghost town this past winter, it’s now a boom town with new restaurants opening, more temporarily closed restaurants re-opening, and more plans to extend outside seating. Back in November after The Eclipse and its downstairs Speakeasy had to close, a new restaurant, The Grey Owl moved into 2 Park Street and opened just before the holidays. See our story here.

In December, when Rotary Pizza left 10 Leland Street, a new take-out model in the form of Maine Kebab opened, designed to allow customers to pick and choose a multitude of Mediterranean and Turkish flavors and dishes. See our story here.

Last fall, a number of businesses were informed they’d have to vacate the nearly 70-year-old commercial building at 279 Main Street when the owner proposed to tear the building down and pave the space for parking. The announcement was met with community resistance and in January, the building was spared when Maine Sport Outfitters announced that it was purchasing the building and installing its latest retail location there. Certain tenants, Park Street Grille, Midcoast Music Academy, and Jonathan Frost Gallery had to move while Frank’s Family Hair Care, and Breakwater Design and Build, Inc have remained at the business complex. Park Street Grille has now moved next door to a space that the Lighthouse Museum in Rockland once occupied and the plans are to open with a bigger footprint and an outdoor waterfront deck in mid-May. The Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce and Regional Information Center has also moved from 1 Park Drive to 25 Park Drive, Rockland on the corner of Park Street and Union Street.

The Home Kitchen Café, a from-scratch breakfast and lunch restaurant, has completed planning board approval for a new bakery located at 19 North Main Street, which is next door to their cafe with work expected to begin in the next few months.

Down by the waterfront, there’s a bustle of activity with more restaurants planned. Larry Reed, the business owner of The Pearl seafood restaurant at the edge of the pier and the adjacent still-unnamed restaurant that once housed Conte’s Restaurant said the Conte’s building has undergone a complete renovation with 50 seats inside and an outside dining area that will seat another 50 people. Much work still needs to be done on the pier and beneath The Pearl building before it can re-open. This summer, Reed anticipates The Pearl’s food concept will be run out of the Conte’s building until all the renovations can be completed.

Rockland Code Enforcement Officer Adam Ackor said The Time Out Pub was purchased by Thomas Shanos of Brewer. And although there are no official building permits or floor plans, the local understanding is that the lower level of the building will be renovated and turned into another restaurant.

A year after closing its store in downtown Camden, Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shops announced three new bookstores are opening this summer, including one in Rockland on Maverick Street between McDonald’s and Hannaford.

Ollie & David’s, a curated vintage shop recently opened on the first floor of the Thorndike building at 385 Main Street. See our story here.

Other Businesses and Restaurants Nearby

In case you missed it, here’s your chance to have that iconic seven-napkin burger again. The Owls Head General Store re-opened under new ownership last fall and the community is thrilled. See our story.

If you’re heading to the Owls Head airport, two new businesses have taken flight within. Bill’s Original Kitchen opened in December, a one-man operation with fresh, to-order breakfast and lunch and piled high lobster rolls. See our story here. Right down the corridor, a new gift shop opened in October called Beyond The Moon.

Over in Union, a new shop opened for the summer, Uncommonly Goods, which sells specialty wines, coffees, pies, pastas, beers, meads and ciders.

In December, a new retail shop opened in Watts Hall in Thomaston, designed to boost the livelihoods of crafters hampered by the pandemic. Jo Ann Hoppe is the owner of Blueberry Moose and we have that story here.

A new healthy beverage spot opened in Warren in February designed for take-out. The concept is to help people get healthier and boost their immunity with Elev8 Energy & Nutrition. See our story here.

If we’ve missed any business openings since September, 2020, shoot us an email with the subject line "Add to Rockland Snow Birds story" and we'll give it a look.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—If you're wondering why Camden and Rockland get the Snow Birds moniker and Belfast gets the Snow Bats, it's because years ago, the citizens of Belfast earned the affectionate nickname of Moon Bats. Compared to Camden and Rockland, Belfast was fairly quiet this year, with not a lot of business movement, but Penobscot Bay Pilot has the rundown on everything that has opened and changed while you were gone.

Downtown

In May 2020, a new bike shop with an adjacent coffee shop opened at 39 Main Street. CG Bikes owner Chris Gardner and business associate, Nathaniel Baer, who runs Downshift Coffee took the bike-and-coffee shop model they’d seen in other places around the country and made it work here. See our story here.Last November, George and Kristin Frangoulis launched Belfast Alive! a new community organization to support and promote local artists, business leaders, community organizers, and anybody dedicated to making Belfast a better place in which to live, work, and play. See our story here.

Belfast Fiberarts moved and expanded their Maker Space of 900 square feet at 171 High Street. Anyone into weaving, spinning, sewing, rug hooking, embroidery, felting, or who just wants to hang out and learn fiber arts should check them out.

TOKO Maine, a shopping and home goods store in Ellsworth, is opening a location in late spring at 76 Main Street.

Food Trucks

Moody Dog, known for its hot dog combinations, has added operations this past winter, keeping a seasonal food truck, but also adding curbside/to-go from its new kitchen space at 39 Main Street. The kitchen not only produces breakfast, but also serves as a purveyor for hungry customers at Marshall Wharf Brewing Co., which officially re-opened in August 2020. See our latest story here.

Although The Scone Goddess has been making delicious scones & scone mixes since August of 2019, they have a new trailer that will open May 1. The trailer will be located at the Bayside Store and will be serving more than 40 varieties of fresh-baked original and gluten-free scones.

Other Businesses News

In March 2021, Hamlin’s Marine opened on the waterfront at 7 Front St.

CarQuest Belfast, a division of Quirk Auto Group, relocated in December from its current Belfast location at 105 High Street to Reny’s Plaza, Suite 1D, Belmont Avenue, Belfast. See that story.

Renew ME Day Spa opened in the fall of 2020 at 39 Main Street.

Just Outside Belfast

Workshop/Gallery is a new art gallery and studio in Searsport that opened this spring, merging a working art studio and exhibition space for contemporary art and design. The gallery will be exhibiting sculpture, fine art furniture, painting, and photography. The inaugural exhibition features the fine art furniture of Eric Nation and the plein air paintings of Howard Little.

In Searsport, a new artisan boutique and home goods store plans to open called Trove.

If we’ve missed any business openings since September, 2020, shoot us an email with the subject line “Add to Belfast Snow Bats story” and we'll give it a look.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—We had to skip our annual Snow Birds series last May due to all of the shutdowns during the pandemic, but during the winter-spring of 2020-2021, quite a few businesses have changed the downtown landscape.  It’s always interesting to see what's open, what's closed, what's new, and what's happening. Here is your rundown for the summer. 

The Main Street Shuffle

Downtown Camden saw an unprecedented number of business closures and closed restaurants over the winter. The Drouthy Bear, the Scottish pub restaurant, shuttered soon after the pandemic started and in its place, a couple of restaurateurs, Gabriela Acero and Derek Richard, moved in and made plans to open a new chophouse restaurant named wolfpeach. After more consideration, given the constraints of the state capacity mandates, the couple decided to temporarily switch up their restaurant model and initially offer a pop-up barbecue for takeout only called Dickie Steels’ BBQ.

Zoot Coffee is currently in the process of doing a hop, skip, and a jump down to 5 Elm Street to the larger retail space formerly occupied by the boutique Josephine’s, which closed after the pandemic. Zoot plans to re-open in early May.

BOWA (Best of What’s Around) moved into 31 Elm Street in February. Headed up by the owners of Long Grain restaurant, BOWA also adapted to the take-out model with healthy, seasonal meals. They are one of three new health-centered foodie spots that have opened. The other is Mixed Greens, a cafe/take-out at 15 Main Street, soon to open. On 25 Mechanic Street, a new energy tea and shake shop opened in late April called The Mill Nutrition.

The Midcoast lost a vital resource when Sherman’s Books & Stationery was forced to close last March. In its place, Maine Seaside Treasures opened a year later at 14 Main Street. The sea-themed shop owned by Connie Sawyer is a sister shop to her Seagull Cottage boutique in Rockland. See our recent story.

Cold Toes Tacos, which was the pandemic restaurant pivot of Boynton-McKay restaurant, has now expanded into a food truck, which can be found around the Midcoast this summer.

Short Shots

According to the Camden town office, here are more changes to downtown:

Liberty Graphics, a long-standing T-shirt printing shop that has been around since the 1970s, moved to 13 Mechanic Street.

Wooden Alchemy, a wood art store, moved from Rockland to 19 Elm in Camden.

Oyster River Winegrowers, a small, farm winery in Warren, opened a retail and tasting room at 31 Elm Street.

Edward Jones, the financial advisor firm, opened a second office at 87 Elm Street.

Jessie Tobias Design, an interior design and staging firm, opened a send retail location at 24 Bayview Street.

Creative Creations4U opened at 47 Bay View St in Camden opened in early May as a way to showcase handmade Maine crafts and art.

Rockport Restaurants & Businesses

Gathering Thyme, a farmhouse decor business, opened in February on West Street in Rockport. See our story.  On Saturday, May 22, they are having an outdoor craft fair and open house and food trucks.

For taco and tequila lovers who will miss the Blue Sky Cantina that closed in Rockport, a new Mexican restaurant opened at 5 Country Inn Way called Taboo Taqueria on May 5.

Last fall we covered a story on the new authentic Italian restaurant Ports of Italy that opened in the former Helm restaurant in Rockport. Sante Calandri, who operates the Ports of Italy restaurants, and business partner Jeffery Teel are working on opening Ports Pizzeria Rockport, the new restaurant at 139 Commercial St., adjacent to the existing Ports of Italy restaurant in Rockport.

Midcoast Music Academy had to move this year (see our Rockland Snow Birds story) and is now located at 821 Commerical Street Rockport.

New Construction

The newly constructed Rockport library opened on December 17 to an enthusiastic public. See our story. And its amenities in another story here.

A planned Rockport harbor hotel is still undergoing appeals on its permit approval. You can read all about the journey on our series of articles here. 

If we’ve missed any business openings since September, 2020, shoot us an email with the subject line "Add to Camden Snow Birds story" and we'll give it a look.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

NORTHPORT—A new small press has launched in Maine called Toad Hall Editions and its purpose is to give a platform to writers who don’t get noticed in the more traditional publishing arenas.

Founded by Amy Tingle, Liz Kalloch and Maya Stein, the trio all have skills in the publishing and design industries. The idea for the small press came out of years of collaboration on their own various projects. Their collective work on Stein’s latest book, The Poser: 38 Portraits Reimagined by Maya Stein, features imagery and interviews with a selection of contemporary artists from around the world whose portraits Maya reenacted during the lockdown last year.

One day, they were all sitting at the dining room table of Tingle’s and Stein’s house when the idea of starting a traditional press came up. 

“I have to blame our dining room table; we call it ‘The World Domination Table,” joked Stein. “It inspires visions of grandeur just sitting there.”

It was a match that seemed destined. Kalloch, an artist, and graphic designer, helped design several of Tingle’s and Stein’s self-published books in the past.

Tingle, also an artist and copy editor, and Stein, a poet and writing facilitator, all had the requisite skills and backgrounds working for publishers to start something of their own—to not only publish their own work, but also to extend it to “... the work of women and gender diverse writers and artists—progressive, LGBTQIA+, minority, or otherwise still-too-often unheard voices.”

For potential authors, the trio is looking primarily for women and gender-diverse people whose “work lives in the liminal spaces.”

“It feels like a way we might be able to correct the canon,” said Tingle. “As three women who have worked in the publishing industry and having seen people who have important stories to tell get pushed to the sidelines, we would love to get as many diverse voices as we can.”

“I think the big thing for me, having worked in-house for several publishing houses in the Bay Area of San Francisco was repeatedly seeing work come in from women get turned down,” said Kalloch. “We want to create a space for writers whose works would perhaps not be accepted by a larger more traditional publisher.”

The initial goal is to publish one to three books a year, but that’s not all that Toad Hall Editions is involved in. They are launching two new literary magazines: one for adults called messing about in boats, a biannual compendium, and Buttered Toast, an annual journal for young writers.

For writers looking to go the self-publishing route, Toad Hall Editions also offers book publishing services such as writing coaching and development, manuscript editing, proofreading, and book design.

As for their company name, it came built-in with the house.

“Toad Hall is the name of our house in Northport,” said Tingle. “The former owner of our house had children who were fans of the children’s book, Wind in the Willows, so they named the house Toad Hall. It was so literary, so why not name the press after it—it seemed perfect.”

To learn more about the small press, their literary magazines and publishing services visit: Toad Hall Editions

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—Trees talk; scientists have been telling us that for years. But what you didn’t know is that they are particularly good at speaking to artists.

Roger Barry, a woodworker and artist, whose work is currently showing at Art Space Gallery in Rockland, has a connection to trees that goes back to his great-grandfather, the publisher of The Lumberman’s Actuary, a book of tables figuring lumber costs. Both his grandfather and father worked in the lumber milling business and it’s from his father, that Barry learned the craft of woodworking.

“I grew up hanging around my father’s shop,” said Barry. “He was a woodworker, sculptor, and architect.”

Barry went on to earn his BFA in wood sculpture in 1975. He makes sculptures and wooden lighting fixtures and furnishings but it’s his ornately carved boxes, what he calls “reliquaries,” that seem to display the deepest connection he has to trees.

“Most people think that a reliquary means a container for ancient bones, but it means anything that you find precious,” he said.

A glimpse into his childhood reveals his love for special boxes.

“When I was a kid about nine years old, my brother gave me a box that he didn’t want anymore and I kept precious things in it, such as concert tickets, or little things people gave me over the years,” he said. “And every now and then I go back and look at those things— a little historical perspective of my life.”

One of four boxes on display at Art Space is called “Deep Woods Reliquary,” which seems inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien or something Swiss surrealist H.R. Giger might have dreamed up.

“Yes, that one is kind of ominous, but I’m not trying to be scary,” he said. “Sometimes trees are gnarly like that.”

There’s a lot of movement in this piece constructed of walnut and cherry with its gnarled roots and branches intersecting like a nest of snakes. But it’s not something Barry consciously sought to create.

“I had absolutely no concept when I started on that box of where I was going with it,” he said. “It was a culmination of all the carving I’d done prior to that box with some parts of boxes that I made before incorporated into this one.”

Texturally, he infused some elements into it just for visual interest, such as the sections that looked honeycombed from woodpeckers. And in another reliquary, he fused hammered copper leaves onto the box using a sanding disc to gauge out divots.

Combining the functional with the sublime is what Barry does with these reliquaries. Some that he makes, contain intricate mechanisms.

Professing his life-long intrigue with secret locks, he said: “Again, when I was a child, I was really into making mechanical things. When you opened my bedroom door, a mechanical arm would throw a wad of paper at you, which my parents weren’t too happy about, as I’d nailed the device to the floor. But, really the reason for the reliquary is to keep your secret precious things to yourself so in some of them, will have a secret button, that only you will know how to open the box.”

His work can be found at Art Space in Rockland and at The Center Street Gallery in Bath this summer. Visit his website at rogerbarry.net

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—Back in December, we wrote a story on Maine Cater, the hospitality company dedicated to serving New England’s food and beverage industry. Husband-and-wife team, Daryle and Orianna Degen were behind the operation to provide restaurants with temporary or full-time employees—sort of an industry-specific Indeed.com.

One of Maine Cater’s goals was to give back to those in the industry with a Worker Fund—a pool of money that’s generated from employer-paid job listings on Maine Cater’s site.

With scores of restaurants looking for front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house employees this spring, the website has amassed hundreds of paid job listings, the majority of which are in Maine. And that has translated into a giving spree that Daryle Degen went on in April.

“The Worker Fund account got up to a little more than $3,000, so we decided to match it with our own funds to give away,” said Daryle.

The way it works is they use an online generator to determine the winners of the Worker Fund tips, so it’s fair to everyone. Then, they set up a poll on their social media channels to ask their followers to help determine how the amounts should be parceled out.

“It’s not as though we pick favorites; the giveaways are completely random,” said Daryle. “We leave it up to the restaurant how to divide it up between all of the employees.”

The best part is being able to walk into a restaurant and hand over the money.

“They have no idea,” said Daryle.

For Dockside Restaurant, a family-owned business in Belfast, it was more than just a surprise the day Daryle walked in.

“We were all sitting there at the bar when he walked in; we thought we were getting punked,” said Darlene Ginn, an employee of the restaurant for the last 20 years. “We’re a very small staff and we were so appreciative to see this ... It was so rewarding.”

“We’re were really touched,” said co-owner Lisa Mosher. “I’m just really happy they were able to choose my staff. These girls who have held the front end together with all of the hassles of COVID-19 that restaurant staff have to go through—we’re all trying to work our way through this.”

As Mosher stated when they posted the event on Facebook: “To say that we were surprised is an understatement. What an incredible gesture that we were all a part of today. Our community is the best and we could not be more thankful.”

It actually made us all kind of teary-eyed,” said Mosher. “There are very kind people in this world still; it really highlighted how awesome the people at Maine Cater are.”

Maine Cater continues to spread the joy and goodwill with every new employee-paid job listing.

“We say to the restaurant industry, look, we don’t have the high traffic that Indeed or Craigslist does, but we’re getting there while simultaneously re-investing your funds right back into the industry,” said Daryle. “So if you support us, we will support you right back. We’re serious; we’re putting our own money into matching those funds. It’s all about supporting each other during these hard times.”

Find out what else they do at MaineCater.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

On May 29, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens unveiled a spectacular addition to their 300 acres of gardens and natural spaces. Take a virtual stroll through the woods to experience Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s "magical, mysterious, and mammoth recycled-wood sculptures" as well as the handmade fairy houses that children and big kids alike have made on the grounds. Visit Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in May while it is still uncrowded. Note: you'll have to purchase tickets ahead of time; no walk-ins.

On May 29, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens unveiled a spectacular addition to their 300 acres of gardens and natural spaces. Take a virtual stroll through the woods to experience Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s "magical, mysterious, and mammoth recycled-wood sculptures" as well as the handmade fairy houses that children and big kids alike have made on the grounds. Visit Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in May while it is still uncrowded. Note: you'll have to purchase tickets ahead of time; no walk-ins.

BOOTHBAY—A sign war trending all over Maine is bringing some laughter and lightheartedness with dueling messages between businesses.

Michael Lee, an agent of State Farm based in Waterville, whose business is across the street from a Wendy’s restaurant, prompted the first move by posting the challenge: “Hey Wendy’s! Want To Start a Sign War?

The photos of the exchange, posted on the businesses’ various social media channels last week, tell the story. The name of the game of a sign war is to be cheeky, use puns, and lob a good-natured diss.

When Wendy’s posted, “What are you wearing Mike from State Farm?” a reference to the State Farm commercial, Michael Lee of State Farm then upped the ante with a reply, referencing Wendy’s “buns.”

Ohhhhh game on. Now we’re cooking with gas.

Speaking of gas, Michael Lee went there in a reference to Wendy’s chili.

Probably not unexpectedly, other businesses wanted to get in on the action.

The Boys and Girls Club YMCA at the Alfond Youth Center managed in 12 words to name-check Wendy’s and Michael Lee with a pun on fitness. Then the Silver Street Tavern decided to message The Boys and Girls Club to come over for happy hour (which is even funnier as the Boys and Girls Club kids are only ages 6-12 years old).

Later that week, a woman in a cow mascot uniform who goes by Charlotte The Cow (preferring to keep her real name anonymous) roped Boothbay Harbor in on the game. Charlotte, who works for The Smiling Cow in Boothbay Harbor, posted her own sign, asking: “Got Milk?”

Staff at The Smiling Cow told Pen Bay Pilot that they hadn’t bought the costume for her—she went out and bought it herself just for fun. “I got into dressing up as a cow last year,” Charlotte said. “In 2019, I got injured at work, and was bored at home, so decided to buy a couple of inflatable cow suits to run out and greet tour buses that come into Boothbay Harbor. I went through two of them last summer and I decided to invest in an actual cow mascot suit.”

“There aren’t many people who know about Charlotte The Cow yet, so I thought this was a great way to introduce her to the public,” she said. “As soon as a friend showed me Wendy’s post, I said ‘I want in!’”

Charlotte The Cow may end up making an appearance in the Midcoast this week, as she’s free-range.

“I actually suffer from severe depression and anxiety and putting that suit on and walking out of the store, seeing the kids out on the dock, they light up,” she said. “They make me feel better knowing that they’re having a great time.”

Charlotte’s sign mooved the needle: Wendy’s just responded with their own sign calling her “udderly amoozing.”

To stay up on the current incarnations, follow #centralmainesignwar on Twitter and Facebook.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Health seems to be on the minds of many businesses moving into downtown Camden this spring. The Mill Nutrition, at 25 Mechanic Street, is an herbal tea /shake shop that offers sugar-free Herbalife products with vitamins, protein boosters, and other nutritional add-on enhancements in custom drinks.

Owned by Marlene and Zac Cohn, the take-out shop opened in early April.

While the menu might be a lot to digest at first, especially for people not familiar with all of the Herbalife products and enhancements, it consists of energizing teas, shakes, and natural flavor-enhanced drinks. Their sister store, Breakwater Nutrition, at 1 Payne Avenue in Rockland, also carries many of the same products.

“All of our products are flavored naturally with Stevia with no sugar,” said Felt. “Our shakes are made with sugar-free puddings and dry syrups to give them a nice flavor on top of the protein mix and Formula One meal replacements,” said Felt.

Whatever the Midcoast community is seeking, The Mill Nutrition offers dozens of flavors and products to build custom drinks, including for health, weight loss, rebuilding muscle strength, pre-and post-workout hydration, immunity boosters, mid-afternoon energy boosters, to combat gastric issues, and more. Many of The Mill Nutrition’s flavor combinations have been made in-house by staff, who tailor offerings to specific customers.

“Some use our shakes to gain weight and some use them as a meal replacement,” said Felt. “We have a couple of older ladies who come in, who don’t eat a lot, and need the protein. They’ll buy several to go, so they can have them for meals later.”

As for Felt, she is a fan of the products. “I make one in the morning, because I’m on the go with 20–300 calories and 12-16 net carbs,” she said.

There are a half dozen natural enhancements that can be additionally customized to each drink, including specific vitamins and minerals, probiotics, electrolytes, and fat burners. Herbalife offers an enhancement called New Mom Booster, which adds specific vitamins and minerals that new mothers need. “I’m a new mom myself and I honestly was getting ready to give up nursing, so I just add this New Mom combination to my teas, which keep me hydrated and now my milk production has increased like crazy,” said Felt.

The energy drinks are becoming a draw for the working guys who try to get through their afternoons with a Red Bull and a Whoopie Pie.

“We switched our Fed Ex guy to our teas and weaned him off his Monster daily drink,” said Felt. “They’re way better, make you feel better; cuts out all of that sugar and coffee.”

There’s even a flavor called Prison Break, which is not, at first glance, a flavor named after a jail escape, but rather, a natural energy drink “break” from the three p.m. job slump.

“A lot of our clientele are first responders and my significant other works at the prison, so Breakwater Nutrition, our sister shop in Rockland, created that flavor for them,” said Felt.

For more information visit The Mill Nutrition on Facebook.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Elizabeth Stanley is the last person who wants to be in front of the camera, which has noticeably given her insight when it comes to being a portrait photographer.

“I’m kind of an introvert, so I completely understand why people are hesitant to have their picture taken,” she said.

The Rockland-based artist-photographer got her start early on. Remember in the early 1990s when Kodak sponsored a group of 7th-grade CRMS students, giving them all a camera and instructing them to go around the Midcoast shooting photos?

Stanley was one of the middle schoolers assigned to this project and her photo of three kayaks at Maine Sport Outfitters and a photo of artist Richard Remsen doing blown glasswork made it into the published coffee table book, Our View: A Day in the Life of Camden-Rockport Maine.

After dabbling around with photography at the University of Maine in Augusta, Stanley took a black and white photography darkroom class and discovered how much she loved the process. She bought her first DSLR camera soon after that and began working as a portrait photographer.

“What I’ve done since has all been self-taught, and I’m still learning aspects of the business,” she said.

There are a dozen directions a photographer can take when determining a career, and first, Stanley had to discover what she liked and didn’t like.

“I got really burnt out when I used to do weddings, especially the all-day weddings,” she said. When cell phones and iPads became available, they presented a whole new challenge to photographers.

“I had one wedding where the couple told the guests to accommodate the photographer and keep their devices down, but when I got set up to do a shot of the bride and groom walking down the aisle, all you could see is people holding up iPads,” she said. “I had to stand up on a chair on the back row and got as high as I could to shoot over them. It worked!”

Being a “people-person,” Stanley naturally gravitated to doing portrait photography. She found a studio she could share with another photographer, bought more equipment, and taught herself how to use it.

Her specialty is photographing children, families, couples, events, boudoir—private intimate photos for women in their bedrooms and dudeoir—the same, but for men.

Getting strangers to open up and let their true selves shine through is another set of soft skills that even an introvert like Stanley has learned to accomplish.

“Most people tell me they can’t stand having their picture taken or they never had a good photo taken of them, so it takes some skill to get people to change their perspective,” she said.  “Sometimes they’re worried about what they consider a physical flaw, so I talk to them at first, put them at ease and just by changing the angle, or the light can be very flattering. And in Photoshop, I can easily remove small things like acne or scars.”

“Portraiture has always been where my passion is,” she said. “I like connecting with people. Most people who come in don’t know how the photoshoot is going to go; they don’t know what they’re going to look like on camera. “Believe it or not, guys are just as self-conscious about how they look as women are, so I’m able to show them immediately. I love their smiles when they see that.”

With children's portraits, a whole new layer of complication is introduced.

“Moms come in afraid their kids won’t be well-behaved or won’t sit for the camera, so I can put people at ease,” said Stanley. “My youngest son was my right-hand man when I first started. He was seven or eight and he’d be with me when I did portraits, so he’d get the little kids to smile and laugh behind the camera for me. He’d toss them a ball or make some silly face at them or say something to make them laugh. He’s grown now, so I’ve had to take his role, so I just do the same stuff he used to do.”

Stanley goes by E. Stanley Photography on Facebook.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND — A spate of new businesses are opening up all around the Midcoast this spring, following a tumultuous year for shops and stores struggling during the pandemic. One of the newest is a curated vintage shop owned by David Robichaud called Ollie and David’s—with Ollie as a tribute to his dog, an English Springer Spaniel.

It is located on the first floor of the Thorndike building at 385 Main Street, once the great Thorndike Hotel. This overlooked building is often thought to host only residents, but the entire first floor is a multi-use mini business district. The back deck adjacent to Ollie and David’s is a welcoming spot, which will soon have seating and plantings this spring.

When Robichaud first moved to Maine in 1984, he opened 51 Bayview Street in Camden, a high-end home interior business. Much later, during the 2010s, he ran Summersport Mercantile in South Thomaston.

“My other stores have been a little more formal, more dressy home interiors,” he said. “This store has more home and garden decor of vintage and repurposed items in the factory-farm style.”

Having lived in Appleton has influenced his aesthetic.

“The things I collect now are more rural, more rustic,” he said. “It’s a farm community out there, so I’ve raided my neighbor’s barns for certain creations.”

Inside the shop, one might find quirky, upcycled furniture such as a coffee table made from the base of an old, enameled cookstove with a granite top or steampunk lamps made from plumber’s pipe and chicken feeder tops for shades. Many items are one-of-a-kind, from vintage pieces and artist-made. Clearly, these are not items one will find massed-produced; they’re original utilitarian objects and tools once used in everyday life. 

Like so many people who debated about opening up a shop in a pandemic, Robichaud weighed the pros and cons.

“I woke up one night and just decided to do it,” he said. “This kind of shop is what I know best.”

“So many of the things in here are from my own personal collection that I’ve had in storage from various businesses I’ve owned,” he said. “The shop is a combination of all kinds of design things I do from floral design to interior design, from landscape design to space planning. It also has a bit of a modernistic feel to it as well. In the back of the store in the garden section, there are all of these used buckets and pails and trays for planting, which I’ll show people how to use in their gardens.”

Ollie & David’s store hours and photos can be found on Instagram.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

TENANTS HARBOR—Logan and Hannah Rackliff, co-owners of The Rope Co., have fostered a unique home decor business around an unlikely source—float rope, used by lobstermen to attach to lobster traps to the buoy and from trap to trap.

Logan, a fifth generation lobsterman, comes by the profession naturally, both as a working lobsterman and as the descendant of entrepreneurs who started rope companies in Maine.

His grandfather started Crowe Rope which became the largest rope manufacturer in the country from the mid-1980s until he sold it in 1994. His father started his own business, HighLiner Rope in 1998, which even today, is used by the majority of lobstermen from Canada to Florida.

Float rope, once used by every Maine lobsterman as groundlines until 2009 when federal regulations banned the use of it to protect Northern Right Whales, has often been repurposed by enterprising businesses to keep the rope out of landfills. While other businesses fashioned new doormats from that discarded rope, the Rackliffs knew they wanted to go a different direction. Since they had access to brand new rope through the family business, they decided in 2013 to create doormats from new float rope to elevate its appearance with custom, coordinated colors.

“We came into the game after several other companies started making mats from re-purposed rope, but we wanted to create our own path,” said Logan. “We realized we could make any colors we wanted, so instead of high-contrasting colors you’d get from traditional rope—which is meant to stand out with so you can see it—we wanted more muted colors that would match the decor of a home. Now, we’re known as a design company.”

The process, as he explained, takes place when the polypropylene float rope is being formed. Dyes can be added at that point, which bonds with polypropylene. Once the rope is finished, workers weave the doormat on a wooden jig with metal poles in a factory in Machias.

For the Rackliffs, the vision to expand into the home goods market has been a conscious choice. The Rope Co. creates more than doormats; they make chunky, durable rope rugs, placemats, handcrafted sculptural baskets, and keychains.

“Every good idea that has turned into a product has come from Hannah,” said Logan. “We try to create a piece of Maine that people can bring home.”

Logan, who learned how to navigate a lobster boat when he was in grade school, has been lobster fishing his whole life and doesn’t plan on stopping.

After receiving his bachelor's degree at the University of Maine in construction engineering (with one of his three minors in entrepreneurship), he decided that beyond lobstering, it was time to create a business the way his father and grandfather had.

“My grandfather actually conceived of the float rope doormat way back when he was running Crowe Rope, but never had the opportunity to expand it,” said Logan. “I just saw this as a good opportunity and went after it. We took it to the New England Trade Show and the rest is history.”

While The Rope Company’s great team runs the business day-to-day, Logan is thankful he able to carve out time to lobster fish part-time.

“The funny thing is when you grow up in this industry, there are a lot of hard days, some frustrating days, and that’s when you start thinking of how to get out of lobstering and get into another business,” he said. “Now, that I’ve started this business, I have more appreciation for lobstering. Some years I go more; some less, but I’m still working and find that I really enjoy getting out there. It’s still a big part of supporting my family and is part of my heritage.”

For more information visit: The Rope Co.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Calling all new businesses that opened this year or are about to open this spring or summer—please email us your details and links. We’re doing our annual “Welcome Back Snowbirds” articles for Belfast, Camden-Rockport, Union, Appleton, Hope, Rockland, and Thomaston and want input from new businesses so we can list them in our articles. Please email kaystephenspilot@gmail.com and provide the following details:

• Name of business
• Owner and contact info
• Location/address
• Type of business
• What makes it unique
• Facebook/Instagram/Website links (one is only needed)
• Photo if possible

We are aiming to get these articles live sometime in May. Stay tuned!

ROCKLAND—As mud season is full underway, little pops of color in nature are turning up on roadsides and gardens. As part of Artists & Makers Week hosted by the Island Institute’s retail store Archipelago, little pops of color also appeared in artist Kim Bernard’s email inbox—the result of daily art prompts she put out to Maine’s communities and beyond last week.

Each day had a different directive and she encouraged each participant to spend no more than 15 minutes on each prompt. One was: Pick a color, go for a walk and photograph everything you see that's that color. Choose the best nine photos and email a screenshot.

Each person picked their own color scheme.

“Some of them were not easy colors to find, such as a teal/aqua,” she said. “When you set out with the intention to find that color, suddenly your eye finds it, wherever it is. That color has always been there, but now that you’re searching for it and your eye zeroes in. I thought about this more being an exercise in observation, not emphasizing so much about the objects they chose, but more about sticking to their choice of color, even if it was difficult to find.”

Bernard added that the art prompt doubly served as a practice in being present in the moment. “When you’re out for a walk looking for color, what you’re actually doing is exercising your mind and creativity,” she said. “There are so many benefits to doing this.”

“Each prompt attracted different people,” she said. “For example, one prompt encouraged people to choose one common household object that they have many of and arrange them creatively, so some people were more inclined to do that one more than the others.”

Another popular art prompt was to create a doodle within a circle. Bernard received 24 of those doodles and has now created buttons out of them and is sending them back to the participants.

Bernard started her daily art prompts from her social media platforms right after the pandemic began to encourage people to cultivate creativity and camaraderie. It turned into 150 days in a row of daily art prompts, encouraging her followers to post their work on her Facebook page—sort of an interactive, fun, hobby, while the world was figuring out how to move forward.

As a result of this hobby, Bernard received a grant from the Island Institute to produce Daily Art Prompt decks, printed into postcard size, which now Archipelago now carries.

To see how the daily art prompt creations turned out each day visit Bernard’s Facebook page.

“It was generous of the Island Institute to make this Artists & Makers Week free for participants and since it was virtual, it was even far-reaching to anyone who has a connection to the Midcoast,” she said. “And it’s recorded, so if you missed some of the events this week, people can still access it online.”

To access more of the archived virtual events visit Artists & Makers Week.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

BELFAST—Think you’re being a good consumer by dropping your plastic recycling off at a Transfer Station each week? Well, don’t wipe your hands and be on your merry way, yet.

In the last 60 years, consumers have been sold a lie that the plastic they buy will be recycled.  The truth is less than 10 percent of what we use and turn in for recycling is actually recycled—the majority is incinerated or stuffed right back in landfills. According to an NPR and PBS Frontline investigative report, “How Big Oil Misled The Public in Believing that Plastic Would Be Recycled,” the nation’s largest gas and oil industries were aware that the majority of the plastic they made was not going to be recycled, but instead, thrown away.

Creating new plastic today is actually cheaper than recycling it. And big oil firms found more incentive to invest heavily in making virgin or new plastic, rather than the more expensive option of recycling it. If we care about this as consumers, it’s time to wean dependence from buying single-use plastics.

The Green Store in Belfast, owned by Ellie Daniels, has always led the movement for organic and eco-friendly products. In late March, the store introduced a new Common Good bulk liquid cleaning products system in the back of the store. Similar to a food co-op’s system of dispensing staple items from bulk bins, The Green Store encourages shoppers to bring in their own containers and dispense as much liquid into them as they need.

“It’s amazing how much plastic we throw away in common products like shampoo or even the toothbrushes we use, but particularly I was interested in finding soaps and detergents that people could dispense themselves and refill in their own containers,” she said.

When it comes to the single-use plastic dish, body wash, and laundry detergent bottles, Daniels was concerned with mitigating our consumer impact on the environment.

“Especially since COVID-19, we haven’t been able to ship our recycling to overseas recycling centers,” said Daniels. “I know public radio did recently did an expose that how much we thought was being shipped to a recycling center, was, in fact, going straight into the ocean.”

Daniels is referring to a documentary called Plastic Wars, an investigation and report NPR and PBS did on the lies told by the oil and plastic industries—that single-use plastic would be recycled. The industries promoted that concept, without actually following through with it, because they knew it would appeal to eco-conscious consumers and would ultimately sell more plastic.

The Green Store currently offers hand soap, laundry detergent, and all-purpose soaps in unscented, lavender, or tea tree with a cost of .45 to .50 cents per fluid liter.

“The scented soaps are essential oils, not perfumed oils and tea tree is especially good for cleaning bathrooms in particular because it’s anti-fungal and anti-bacterial,” said Daniels.

Shoppers are encouraged to re-use their own containers and The Green Store sells special pump adapter lids for glass mason jars. Of course, if the shopper wants his or her laundry area to be Instagram-worthy, there are also snazzy glass bottles to go with it.

For more information visit: The Green Store

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—The Island Institute and its retail store, Archipelago are champions of the Midcoast’s creative economy and sponsors of the past in-person Artist and Makers Conferences. This year due to the pandemic, they’ve spun in a new direction, creating a virtual Creative Economy Hub for the week of April 5 to 9, 2021.

Organizer Lisa Mossel Vietze knew the undertaking of an artists and makers event would be different this year. “After surveying 850+ past participants, we began to think about how to engage them knowing that Zoom fatigue is real,” she said. “In the past, we’ve had nearly 30 hours of content in a day and a half and I knew we couldn’t recreate that amount of content online while having it be engaging, inspirational, and informative. The survey really informed the content and so, we came up with the idea of a Creative Economy Hub where there would be new and existing content that could be accessible throughout the year, as well as a focus on a week-long portfolio of content and events that would launch during Artists and Makers Week. 2021. We wanted to also provide content that wasn’t easily found elsewhere, that helps us feel connected, even while being apart. Those are the specific reasons for the Daily Art Prompts and Daily Art Voices being dropped all week.”

How to tell your artist’s journey on Instagram

Hannah Richards, brand content strategist at Ethos in Westbrook, is the featured speaker of the week, giving multiple webinar presentations on how to use the features of Instagram to reach and engage your audience.

Takeaway tips from her hour-long webinar on Instagram included:

• It is the best visually-oriented platform for artists to showcase their work. “I always say it is the art gallery of social media,” said Richards. “People are very invested in what you’re making and are most likely to engage.”
• It’s the best platform for shopping; people tend to check in every day and make impulse purchases. “Small businesses that use Instagram ads get a bigger audience for their accounts and more followers,” she said.
• Instagram’s Reels, its video function, gets the highest amount of views and engagement.
• Use a branded hashtag after each post that is completely unique to your work and put it in your Instagram bio.
• Instagram offers tools to tell stories in different ways such as: Feed (photo and caption), Story (best for building brand), Story Highlights (categorize your products), Reels (short video), IGTV (longer video) to tell a story; use the free app Planoly to help draft, schedule and publish content.

Those who wish to view the recorded event can see it here. Richards will do a follow-up webinar on any Instagram questions artists and makers might have on April 8 from 10 to 11 a.m. Register here.

Stay tuned for more stories on Artist and Makers Week from PenBayPilot this week.

Related: Takeaways from Artists and Makers Conference 2017

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Maine Seaside Treasures, a Rockland-based shop, moved into its second location on 14 Main Street in Camden and opened its doors on Friday, March 27.

Owner Connie Sawyer also runs the sea-themed Seagull Cottage in Rockland, and the new store is similar in decor.

Her husband told her about a space in Camden that was for rent even though she wasn’t looking to open a new store.

“The pandemic has brought pros and cons to everyone in their lives and I was just very fortunate that this could happen for us,” she said. “It’s a strange time to be opening a business, but maybe it’s the perfect time; it felt meant to be.”

Sawyer said she’s excited to be a part of downtown Camden and to meet the community.

“We had a good summer over at The Seagull Cottage—not a great summer—but it slowly picked up,” she said. “We were saved by the locals from the end of summer through December; they supported us tremendously.”

With Store Manager Carissa Christie helming Maine Seaside Treasures, Sawyer will still run the Seagull Cottage in Rockland location.

The place was vacated by Sherman’s Books and Stationery, which closed a year ago as a casualty of the COVID-19 industry shutdown, as previously covered in a PenBay Pilot story.

With exposed brick and high ceilings, the 1,200 square-foot store has a lot of beach-themed home accessories, such as mermaid sculptures, starfish, and urchin shells, along with other Maine-themed gifts and decor.

“In the Camden store, I’ll be carrying some different items, so we won’t be competing with other local stores,” she said. “But, it’s still all themed around the coast. I just love the sea and so many of the items here reflect that. I’ll also be adding more items handmade locally by artists.”

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only 10 people will be allowed in the store at one time.

Updates for a grand opening and store hours can be found on their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Chef Josh Hixon, owner of 40 Paper, in Camden, and Chuong Thien Nguyen, both volunteers of the Camden Snow Bowl’s Ski Patrol and Mountain Steward program, have a friendly rivalry going on: who can cook the better dish?

After a mock battle involving dueling homemade dishes one day after skiing, Hixon and Nguyen decided to make it official and host a Culinary Throwdown on Sunday, March 28, in the lodge of the Camden Snow Bowl with donations toward the meal benefiting the Ski Patrol projects.

Pork was the common ingredient for each dish and each cook took that protein in a different direction. Nguyen made a Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Chop with Roi Choi Korean Kimchi Fried Rice, substituting Heiwa Tofu for vegetarians. Hixon, using a smaller version of flatbread that 40 Paper serves, decided to go with a Calabrian pork grilled flatbread.

“The lemongrass pork chop is my family recipe,” said Nguyen, who alternated between searing the pork on the grill on the outside deck and coming back inside to season his wok with a variety of flavors for the fried rice. “This is something I’ve done a long time; I love cooking.” 

On the opposite side of the lodge, Hixon had already prepared his chafer with carmelized pulled pork and grilled flatbreads.

“There are two regions in Italy, the Emilia region and the Calabrian region, that do these kinds of flatbread with meats and vegetables,” explained Hixon. “So, this is a play on that with pork I got locally from Deer Foot Farm, which was braised for a number of hours. The vegetables were radicchio and arugula, all Italian ingredients, with local feta on top. And then I had a spicy, rich paste made from ground Proscuitto and salami, chilis, and butter. The sauce on top was the braising liquid reduced.”

Judges for the event were the Snow Bowl’s General Manager, Beth Ward, Senator Dave Miramant, Rep. Amy Roeder, and Ski Patrol volunteer R.J. Polky.

As everyone enjoyed the Italian and the Vietnamese dishes, it was hard to proclaim a winner: so it was decided. It was a two-way tie.

“We’re all winners here,” said Nguyen.

“We’re working on finishing the Patrol Summit deck at the top of the mountain, so that we can offer more public events when COVID loosens things up, have a grill up there, and have some live music,” said Terrain Park Manager Steve Pixley.

Though the Snow Bowl made the decision to close early for the season, there is still a GoFundMe fundraiser to help them continue to make operational improvements and finish the Patrol Summit Deck.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Trading up—getting something more valuable in return for the traded item—is human nature.

One Camden man has started a personal adventure to see how far he can get with a paper clip that way. Inspired by Canadian blogger Kyle MacDonald who started with trading a paper clip and ended up owning a house as well as YouTube personality ChadwithaJ, who traded a paper clip and eventually got an iPhone, Matt Hunt is on the same mission.

A month ago, he posted a message on the Facebook Page All Free Midcoast announcing his paper clip proposition, not sure what to expect.

“The first trade I made for a paper clip was for a piece of crystal amethyst,” he said.

Like all journeys, he was prepared for the positive, but not for the negative.

“I had a lot of haters on the comments telling me to get a job, or trying to exchange the paperclip for another similar office item, which is not what this was about,” he said. “Here, in New England, I’ve definitely had the ‘tire kickers’ tell me they wouldn’t do a trade for something as low value as a paper clip. But, I also had people who were excited about this journey and offered me something of more value. And they also told off the people who weren’t being kind.”

The crystal amethyst caught the eye of a person in the Midcoast who offered Hunt a pair of earrings that were simulated opals with CZ accents. In the meantime, he got another paper clip trade going, resulting in a valuable Pokemon card.

“I’ve got two separate items going right now, but I might even be willing to trade both for something else,” he said. “I’m realistic though; I’m not out to make the jump from a $10 value item to a $50 value item—but if it happens, it happens.”

He has now started a Facebook page for his journey, which has amassed around 200 followers.

Not everyone “gets” what Hunt is doing. As he explained it, some people learn how to bake sourdough in a pandemic; this offbeat hobby is just more his speed.

“There is always something sitting in our houses and collecting dust, but if we can have fun and trade these items, why not?” he said.

When you follow MacDonald’s paper clip journey through his Tedx Talk, (see embedded video) it’s easy to see why a fun venture like this can also lead to some amazing discoveries about life, relationships, and human kindness.

“It’s definitely just for the thrill of it,” he said. “There have been multiple sources of inspiration for me to trade up, but it’s not for the high-ticket item, more to just see what they’d offer and where this journey goes.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—Take a walk through the cavernous welding/fabrication shop at the newly built Midcoast School of Technology and you’ll be surrounded by industrial machines, tools, workbenches, and vices. For some students, it might be intimidating. But 17-year-old Mikayla Tolman feels right at home.

The senior at Zenith Alternative School takes a welding class at Midcoast School of Technology every other day and is one of two female students in the welding/fabrication program.

“When I first walked in, I got excited, but also really nervous about how to use all of this equipment,” she said of her first day in the shop. “Growing up, I hung around girls more, but I’ve gotten close to the guys in this class; they’re my buddies.”

Mikayla’s father works at a tractor company and, inspired by that, she took her first welding class at Camden Hills Regional High School as a freshman.

“My instructor was female and she showed me all I needed to know in using the equipment and tools,” she said. “After that, I’d go to where my dad works and find all of these scrap metals and parts I could weld into something.”

Her investment in Industrial Arts has become just that—industrial art. The school featured her miniature logging truck sculpture on its Facebook page.

It took a couple of weeks working on the CNC table, using sheet metal for the truck cab, rebar for the logs, and bearings and nuts for the wheels. “I actually didn’t know it was going to come out as decent as it did,” she said, adding that her dad told her he was pretty impressed with this piece.

The truck sculpture wasn’t a class project; it just was what Mikayla felt like making.

“As long as we’re welding, with our minds on our work, we’re pretty free to make anything,” she said.

Mikayla said she gets inspired with new projects through the image sharing website, Pinterest and from a rising star female metalworker artist she follows on social media named Rae Ripple. “She makes these awesome swings and she plasma cut this entire truck,” she said.

When she’s not at school, she likes to unwind in the outdoors, visiting farm animals, and going four-wheeling.

When Mikayla graduates, she’s got plans for her future in mind.

“When we can travel again, the first places I’d want to go to is to Niagara Falls and the Iowa 80 Truck Stop,” she said.

A quick Google search discovered why she’s so enamored by The Iowa 80 Truck Stop, based in Walcott, Iowa, as it happens to boasts the world’s largest truck stop.

“I’m hopefully going to start my own fabrication business someday,” she said.  “I’d love to make things out of metal, like horseshoes and rebar and turn them into gifts and things people can use in their home.”

In her senior year, the pandemic is still making future plans uncertain.

“I never expected my senior year to be like this,” she said. “Isn’t senior year supposed to be your best year?”

Creating art is a way for her to disengage.

“I try to get away from all of the other stuff,” she admitted. “It’s not hard work, like homework, but it’s creative and you can make what you want.”

Hail To The Rad Kids is an ongoing feature highlighting teens in the Midcoast with special talent. 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—Good Tern, the co-op that rounds up change for worthy causes each month as covered in a previous PenBay Pilot story, is dedicating the month of March to the Portland-based community effort, Maine Needs, which accepts donations of clothing and household items to benefit families in need through caseworkers all over Maine.

They also accept Essential Care Kits. These are care packages you can make as though they were a gift to someone you will probably never meet. Picture a family that has just moved out of a homeless shelter into their first apartment and the first thing they see when they walk into the kitchen is a Cleaning & Toiletry kit, consisting of sponges, soaps, toilet bowl cleaner, trash bags, shampoo, and conditioner. What a relief it is to have essential cleaning tools already in place.

Or picture a young man who has just started getting his life back after hitting rock bottom. The “New Start Kit” with its toiletry items, socks, a granola bar, and a bus pass gives him the dignity to get up in the morning, shower and shave, take the bus that day.

It’s a blast of kindness from one Mainer to another when times are already hard enough. It’s the verbal equivalent of: “Let me make this easier for you.”

Elissa Bower, the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Good Tern Co-op, has been overseeing the kits this month.

“We just got our first kit a few days ago,” she said. “It was a ‘Minute For Mom Kit, which was really sweet. It had a box of tea, a candle, some razors and washcloths, lotion, and a chapstick,” she said.

What people choose to put into a kit is up to them. Maine Needs provides a potential list for each kit but leaves it up to the provider to customize. 

“We’re offering to collect those kits for Maine Needs this month and I’ll either drive them down to Portland or we might be able to distribute them to families right here in the Midcoast,” said Bower.

At the time of this article, Good Tern had been working with Midcoast organizations serving families in need to connect them with Maine Needs and establish a permanent drop-off and distribution location in Rockland.

Even if people prefer not to assemble the kits themselves, Good Tern is still taking donations either at the register as a round-up or over the phone in dollar amounts for Maine Needs.

“It makes me so happy; it brings butterflies to my stomach when I see how much people do care for one another,” said Bower. “You’re never going to meet the person who received the kit, but just making it, and knowing how grateful the person is going to be to receive it—that’s how the world goes round.”

For more information visit Maine Needs and Good Tern Co-op.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Do you miss a rousing Celtic jam with fiddlers stuffed all up in a hot, snug pub?  Yes, this year looks a lot different for our usual St. Paddy’s Day Rundown, but we’re in the midst of a bleeding cold snap and we all need a bit of cheer this week.

Break out the Guinness and go to Ireland

• We’ll start with the free streaming events. So, go ahead and get dressed up in that tacky “Kiss Me I’m Irish” T-shirt you’ve had since college and break out the dangly shamrock earrings. No need to get a COVID test and your passport, you’re going to Ireland on  March 17 with free St. Patrick’s Day Events jointly held by the Mid Ulster District Council and others.  St. Paddy’s celebrations go virtual with a live Muddlers Club Concert, (see a gorgeous music clip here) a performance by songwriter/singer Malachi Cush, and a traditional Irish dance done by kids from the Carroll School of Dance. FMI: Facebook event

• Discover Ireland also has a free virtual event for those who want to tune into the Emerald Isle for an evening and feel as though they are sitting in the old pub with revelers, featuring an evening of music and dance live from the iconic Johnnie Fox’s pub in Dublin. FMI: Facebook event

• Oh my gracious, if you want to get a little rowdy and get into the spirit, the Dropkick Murphys are doing a free livestream concert from Boston at 7 p.m. which you can access through this link. The fact that you will be at home, drinking, not driving, and dancing like a banshee is a good thing, so you don’t make a holy show of yourself. FMI: Facebook

• If you’re a trivia fan, there’s a free, public St. Paddy’s Day trivia event at 7 p.m. Get your pod together and gather at one person’s house to sign up as a team. There are prizes for the top teams (for a nominal entry fee). FMI: Facebook event.

Cook a traditional Irish meal

• This Wednesday at 5:45 p.m., Bravo Maine is hosting a virtual Irish cooking class led by a professional chef where you’ll learn with other Zoomers how to make a steak with stout sauce and a traditional colcannon (potatoes, kale, scallions, and lots of butter). Unlike most Zoom meetings these days, this will be fun and you don’t have to put yourself in video mode to participate. Sign up to get the list of ingredients. FMI: Facebook event

• Or hey, if you want to go rogue and cook like no one is watching, here are the top 10 Irish food recipes you can try at home yourself.

In-person St. Paddy’s Day Celebrations

If you’re feeling okay about being indoors at a public event (while there are still socially distant mandates currently in place) there are a few of our die-hard St. Paddy’s Day Rundown champions opening their doors on Wednesday, March 17.

• Front Street Pub (Belfast) will be starting at 11 a.m. to offer their green beer, Irish specials, and swag specials.
• Marshall Wharf Brewing Co. (Belfast) will be opening at 2 p.m. to feature their new release: Flag! Oatmeal Stout & Green Alien in honor of the day.
• Rollie’s Bar & Grill (Belfast) will be kicking off their Irish food and drink specials at 12 p.m.
• The Whale's Tooth Pub (Lincolnville) will be throwing down some Irish specials as well as live music from the T’Omally brothers at 5:30 p.m. Reservations required.
• Myrtle Street Tavern (Rockland) will be opening at 11 a.m. for St. Paddy’s Day celebrations and food specials.
• Waterworks Restaurant (Rockland) will be serving Irish specials and Guinness starting at 11:30 a.m.

Come on, Mainers, let’s keep that cheer going. Sláinte!

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Maine is a filmmaker’s dream with its rugged coastline, diverse terrain, a pool of talent, and mystique. So why aren’t more movies and television shows shot here?

This has been the frustration of many producers and filmmakers who find that the state’s current tax incentive is too paltry, considering other states and Canadian provinces can provide more financial incentives to shoot movies and television productions there.

According to the Maine Film Office, the state currently only offers a 10-to-12 percent wage rebate back to financiers for employees who work on a film in Maine, with an additional five percent tax credit for any production costs in Maine. However, that five percent is essentially worthless if a production has no tax liability.

For more than two decades, Maine citizens and filmmakers have been trying to get bills passed into law in an attempt to increase film incentives up to at least 25 percent, on par with Massachusetts’ incentives—where many Maine-centered films are typically shot—and for various reasons, these efforts have largely failed.

Rep. John Picchiotti (R-Fairfield) has an interesting answer for why that is. In the past decade, he’d sponsored two bills to boost the state’s film incentives, only to see them both die in the Appropriations Committee.

“The problem we had all along is that the state’s static software was restricted, and antiquated,” said Picchiotti. “Any time you put a bill like this into the budget, all the software would do is show the money going out, not the money coming in. To update the software would have cost the state a million and a half dollars. And the state told us they couldn’t afford it.”

Picchiotti said he found a solution that could have worked.

“Just before I left office in 2018, I was working with a group called REMI, who could have fixed that software problem for around $200,000 to $300,000,” he said. “But, nothing was ever done about it.”

Picchiotti said the state’s Appropriations Committee knew about the problem. They also understood the economic benefits of bringing productions into Maine, but in the end, when the tax incentive numbers got crunched into the state’s budget, without any context, “it threw the budget completely off,” he said.

Despite these past speedbumps, Erik Van Wyck, a producer and actor in the 2018 film, Holly Star, shot in Biddeford and Saco, is working with an effort called Picture Maine to pass a new film incentive bill through the Maine Legislature.  

The bill, L.R. 1105, is titled “An Act to Promote Economic Development Through Increased Film Incentives.”

Beyond the issue of the state’s antiquated software, Van Wyck said other misconceptions have contributed to the failure of past film incentive bills. Having learned from what failed to resonate with lawmakers in the past, Picture Maine’s bill has been crafted with specific goals in mind: to benefit working Mainers, not Hollywood actors.

Misconception 1: Film Incentives Only Benefit Out-Of-State Talent

Van Wyck said that there is a persistent misconception amongst taxpayers and the Maine Legislature that filmmakers only want to boost the state’s economic incentives to benefit the filmmakers themselves.

“There is sort of a stigma attached to it, like, ‘Why should we fund your creative dreams when there are larger issues we need to deal with?” said Van Wyck. “People who only see film as a creative endeavor don’t see it as a profitable industry.”

According to Picture Maine, the new bill “ensures that Maine taxpayers are not subsidizing the salaries of high-profile Hollywood producers, directors, actors, writers or from away.”

“It has no above-the-line incentive for people who don’t live here to work on a film,” he said. “Only the actors, writers, and directors whose wages would be incentivized, would be for people who live in Maine.”

Pointing to Governor Mill’s Strategic 10-Year Plan, which looks to attract new talent and promote innovation among other endeavors, Van Wyck said bringing film and TV productions to Maine aligns perfectly with the 10-Year-Plan’s vision. 

Todd Gabe, a UMaine professor of economics, published a study in 2013 on film and TV’s impact on the Maine economy. Analyzing data from 2010, Gabe discovered that companies bringing film, television and photography projects into Maine directly supported 1,698 jobs.  This was a combination of people working full- or part-time for companies and those who were self-employed. Together, they provided an estimated $19.6 million in labor income.

The bill aims to keep as much revenue generated from film in Maine as possible, and as Gabe’s 2013 study showed, it has a multiplier effect on Maine’s economy.

“Each film and television show is a temporary, independent small business that hires 100-150 people,” said Van Wyck. “In Maine’s economy with seasonal workers, gig workers, and a lot of entry-level workers who have easily translatable skills to a film set, you’re looking at benefiting a lot of local vendors, especially in the leisure and hospitality industries, which are suffering right now in a pandemic. Film is an industry that could easily gain a lot of those jobs back because it relies so heavily on restaurants, hotels, bars, transportation—it’s all good for this state.”

Misconception 2: Filmmaking Can’t Happen in a Pandemic

Numerous film and television shows are currently working around the pandemic, with precautions in place.

“Their productions are going; they’re adding extra quarantine days and everyone is doing multiple COVID tests throughout,” said Van Wyck. “They’ve got medical workers who now have extra employment. You have extra hotel rooms being bought up because of the pandemic; workers who are making extra wages. So, the film incentive bill is no different than The Maine Seed Capital Tax Credit Program or the FAME program, which incentivizes other small businesses.”

Attracting Smaller Budget Films, Not Blockbusters

What Van Wyck and Picture Maine are proposing through this bill is to bring smaller, independent productions to Maine in the $5–$8 million range, not the big, blockbuster $100 million movies. 

“In our bill, there is a per-production cap, so at a certain point, it won’t make sense for an $8 million-film to come here as they wouldn’t get the rate of return they’d get from other states’ incentives,” he said. “By year six of the bill, we would no longer incentivize reimbursement for any crew from away, meaning, for a production to maximize a 100 percent rebate, all the crew would have to live year-round in Maine.”

Currently, Maine offers wage reimbursement to production companies at 12 percent for residents and 10 percent for non-residents. This bill would make Maine more competitive to attract film companies with the proposed change of wage reimbursement at 25 percent for residents and 20 percent for non-residents.

“This bill is all about jump-starting the economy in an industry that we know works,” said Van Wyck. “As a filmmaker myself, I couldn’t care less about how this benefits me. This is a jobs creation bill through and through.”

As someone who has lived and worked in Los Angeles and moved to Maine, Van Wyck said there is something else that people don’t understand until they actually live here year-round. “Maine is a much less cynical population than LA, New York City, or even Atlanta. People are much more welcoming here. When we shot Holly Star in Maine, it was in the middle of the winter. And everyone who interacted with us was just so welcoming, and happy.”

For more information about Picture Maine see attached PDF or contact their email.

Related: When movie stars come to Maine they stay here

Related: Maine in the movies: 35 films where Maine was the third character

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Restaurants operating in a pandemic have had to make enormous changes in order to stay afloat. Gabriela Acero and Derek Richard, a couple featured in our recent story “wolfpeach, a new chophouse with a Maine twist, to open in Camden,” have reviewed their original restaurant plans under these circumstances. Their restaurant, wolfpeach, has not yet opened. Instead, they have decided to kick off their grand opening this spring as a barbeque joint until the industry inches back to normal.

“We knew that wolfpeach wasn’t going to work without doing indoor dining,” said Acero. “Originally, we planned on offering wolfpeach’s food as a take-out model, but we decided it would be more practical to offer modified barbeque takeout as a temporary placeholder until we feel it's truly safe to open for indoor dining.”

Dickie Steels’ BBQ is the new plan for the time being. “The name comes from our LLC, which is a play on Derek’s last name and my last name, which means ‘steel’ in Spanish,” said Acero.

Richard’s background as a chef has been mostly in fine dining in New York and Texas before he moved to Maine.

“I was trying to figure out which food would be ideal for takeout,” said Richard. When I was in Austin, I helped a good friend open his own barbeque restaurant, so I thought this would be fun and challenging to do Texas-style barbeque in the meantime.”

The couple procured a hand-built smoker from a Belfast metalsmith, which they plan to put in their backyard patio. “We plan to put it in the area where we might offer outdoor dining if we run with this model through the summer,” said Richard.

With the smoker, Richard will be offering innovative Texas barbeque reinterpreted with Maine ingredients, similar to their wolfpeach chophouse concept. “Texas barbeque is mostly dry-rubbed meat, not heavily sauced,” said Richard.

With brisket and beef sourced from Maine, Dickie Steels’ BBQ will also offer smoked seafood, such as fish collars, which are cut along the fish clavicle, right behind the gills, and are substantive enough to hold up in a smoker. Another offering will be skate wing. “Any seafood that can handle longer cook times, we’ll use and wrap in seaweed,” said Richard.

Side dishes will also be traditional Texas-style with Maine seasonal ingredients, such as Richard’s sourdough potato rolls in lieu of cornbread and a locally-raised smoked-eel dirty rice. Honing in on Maine’s bean industry, Richard will riff on the traditional baked beans side dish with trout beans and Jacob’s Cattle Beans.

“Dickie Steels’ BBQ might even have its own identity down the line and if it’s successful, we may open it as a second restaurant in the future,” said Acero. Once restaurant indoor seating returns to full capacity, the couple plans to switch over to their original steak-and-seafood chophouse with robust vegetable options.

To learn more about the restaurant’s updates, visit Facebook.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Here we go: March, 2021. Officially one year into a pandemic and the month that Maine went into shut-down mode last year. Right about now, a good number of people are getting antsy to get out and do something—anything! A road trip. A socially distanced social.

Luckily, right here in Staycationland, we have the perfect Cheap Date for you and a beau or a buddy.

Editorial Cartoons of Douglas Coffin

The Belfast Free Library is hosting the editorial cartoons of Douglas Coffin until March 31. Coffin’s single-panel, black-and-white cartoons were run in the Waldo Independent, a Belfast-based weekly newspaper for 22 years in which he chronicled the evolution that Belfast went through the ‘80s, and ‘90s. From the reconstruction of the Belfast Waterfront to backroom politics to small-town observations, Coffin’s style reminds me of Berkeley Breathed (Bloom County) and is highly entertaining.  Of 1100+ cartoons Coffin created, 230 have been selected to exhibit in the Barbara Kramer gallery on the first floor.

To learn more about this exhibit visit Barbara Kramer Gallery.

Marshall Wharf Brewing Co.’s New Enclosed Atrium

Back in February 2020, I wrote a story on Marshall Wharf Brewing Co. new owners and their plans to re-open the iconic waterfront brewery. When I met Daniel Waldron and Kathleen Dunckel, the new co-owners of Three Tides and Marshall Wharf Brewery, they were excited to eventually re-open with construction going on all around them. They couldn’t have anticipated that their efforts would be stalled when the emerging pandemic required all bars and restaurants to shut down a month later.

A year later, they’ve got the brewing operations up and running with 15 beers on draft and two in cans. For your companions who don’t like beer, Marshall Wharf also offers an impressive wine list, as well as hard ciders. And although the Tasting Room cannot be opened yet, the outdoor atrium has now been enclosed and is quite snug inside with socially distanced spool tables, heaters, and the old wood stove that roars in the background. 

With Cheap Dates, we always strive to put an emphasis on affordability. Because there is a limited kitchen at the moment, they offer burritos on Thursday, with The Moody Dog food truck sitting outside on Friday and Sunday as well as homemade soups on Sunday. Customers are invited to bring in their own food while sipping on one of the brewery’s extensive beers.  I recommend you craft a “picnic on a plate” by bringing in your own version of a Ploughman’s Lunch. Additionally, The Stone Brick Oven Kitchen in Northport and Satori in Belfast offer delivery to the atrium.

Oh and the best part? You can bring your dog to the atrium. Well-behaved dogs on leashes are allowed to hang out at tables while their owners enjoy a couple of hours outside the house. Maybe, if you’re like some of my friends, your dog is your Cheap Date.

They are still undergoing renovations and plan to open this spring. Stay tuned to their public Facebook Page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

SWANVILLE—A beloved grocery store has been rebuilt after a car accident severely damaged the property nearly five months ago. On March 3, Swan Lake Grocery opened its doors once again to the public.

On October 6, 2020,  Deb and Rob Newcomb, owners of Swan Lake Grocery, were asleep in their house when Deb’s phone alerted her to a message. The person on the other end was their tenant and some terrible news. A man had crashed his car into the middle of the store, setting his car, and part of the building on fire.

The man did not survive and the entire building sustained extensive fire, smoke, and water damage. As a result, the three-story, 9,000-square-foot building had to be torn down to the timbers.

For Rob, this tragic incident had multiple repercussions. Not only did a man lose his life, he and Deb lost their business, which Rob had owned and operated for 44 years. And the community also lost its valued grocery store in the middle of a pandemic.

“The local people had to drive to Northport, Belfast, or Searsport after that to get their groceries,” said Deb. “Their hearts went out to us over the tragedy of the young man who died at the scene and they wanted to help. Whatever we needed, they were willing to give. We had customers come in with pennies in their pockets to give to us as well as checks in the mail.”

One hundred percent of the rebuild was covered by insurance, including the staff salaries.

“We decided we had great insurance, so we took their donations and gave it back to the community soup kitchen instead,” said Deb.

The store looks almost exactly the same. “We had such a tight timetable and due to COVID-19 virus, getting equipment was an issue we didn’t have time to look at a re-design, so the entire store looks as it did before,” said Rob.

On opening day, many customers came in to admire the new store, which included a bigger produce section, all new fixtures, and a new color scheme.  “We were able to offer more shelving with a larger presentation of groceries,” said Deb. With a tight community such as this, many came up to the couple as they worked to express how happy they were the store was back.

The Newcombs said they plan to run it one more year and sell it, which was Rob’s retirement plan all along. 

“I could’ve retired and taken the insurance money, but, but after having gone through this, I knew the community needed this store back.” 

The original building has been at this site since the late 1800s, according to Rob, who said it was once also a post office. He had worked at this store since he was 12-years-old and purchased it in 1977 when he was 19-years-old.

“We’ve been married 22 years, running this place together,” said Deb. “Rob and his first wife, Linda, who’s wonderful, bought this store when he was just a kid, so you talk about an emotional roller coaster ride this has been.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Last year at this time, Maine Restaurant Week had just squeaked by before an emerging pandemic forced Governor Janet Mills to issue an Executive Order declaring all bars and restaurants close down on March 18, 2020.

“I’ve had people tell me the last time they ate inside a restaurant was last year, ” said Gillian Britt, Maine Restaurant Week co-founder.

The week, designed to boost the visibility of the restaurant industry in Maine, is always held in the first two weeks of March, typically the worst time of year for dining. It allows people to explore a new restaurant at a reduced prix fixe price by using MRW’s website to find special dining options in various regions of Maine.

Now in its 13th year, MRW is still forging ahead, but with more flexible parameters.

“All year we’ve been talking about what March will look like and how we can support the restaurants,” said Britt. “We’ve talked to restaurant owners and got a feel for their situation to see if they could even handle being part of Restaurant Week.”

One of the first changes Gillian and her husband and partner, Jim Britt made was to eliminate the fee for a restaurant to sign up and participate. Sponsors underwriting Restaurant Week this year have made that possible.

As PenBay Pilot reported back in May, restaurants were already strapped in a pandemic with shortened staff, reduced hours, and a restricted number of diners that could be allowed indoors. Without the cushion of a robust economic summer, many of these restaurants were facing short-term or permanent closures come winter.

Turns out, more than 70 restaurants have jumped aboard MRW, and according to Britt, more than a dozen are new or from different geographic regions in the state.

The main difference this year is the format. Not wanting to put any more pressure on the restaurants to continue the traditional three-course menu that MRW has always used, restaurants have the freedom to make their own special deals.

“We left it up to the restaurants how they want to do it this year,” said Britt. “A lot of the restaurants that have participated in the past might be still using that three-course formula, but I’m noticing some innovative options too, such as The Vintage Room in Camden. It isn’t a restaurant, more like a tasting room lounge, but, they’re doing a pairing of three bites and three wines.”

Another new change, due to the pandemic, is now listed on the website, filtering each restaurant by indoor dining, outdoor dining, and a curbside option for ordering.

“When we created Maine Restaurant Week, March was the time when restaurants were really struggling, but as the food scene has grown over the years,  I’ve had chefs tell me that MRW has been about as busy as August,” said Britt. “So, to now be in the midst of this pandemic point, this is exactly what Restaurant Week was created for—to boost interest in the restaurants in our communities and that’s what we continue to do.”

For more information visit Maine Restaurant Week’s website.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

FAIRFIELD—The amount of food that is grown every year only to be thrown into a landfill is staggering.

The Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) Culinary Arts program tackled this national problem by partnering up with the University of Maine's Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, an initiative to drastically reduce food waste. A research project to limit food waste has turned into a class project to educate KVCC culinary students about designing and developing their own food-based products from surplus food that would have otherwise been thrown away.

Maine ranks at 12th in the nation and is first in New England for food insecurity, according to The National Resources Council of Maine, and 40 percent of the food that’s grown goes uneaten by the hungry people who need it most.

Students Get Creative With Surplus

With five students in her class, Jessica Reale Raahede, the Chef/Instructor for KVCC, developed a project that incorporated some of the lessons she was already teaching around the preservation of food, fermentation, and canning.

Simply put, she assigned her students surplus food from local farms and asked them to come up with unique recipes. The added challenge was to make the dishes shelf-stable for the long term.

“Some of the food grown by our local farmers can’t find a market, or it’s considered ‘produce-seconds’ because it’s not as beautiful,” she said. “Where our culinary program is farm-to-table cooking, part of our standards are to connect with local farms and work with their surplus to develop recipes that could either be handed off to food pantries or to develop a value-added product that could get on supermarket shelves.”

Three Delicious Recipes That Came Out Of This Class

The foods that Raahede chose to give groups in her class to work with were apples, squash, cheese ends, and skim milk.

“Winter in Maine is a tough time of year to find locally grown food, so we looked at our storage crops, which would include apples and squash that store well,” she said. “The dairy came from Pineland Farms as the most valuable product is the creamier part of milk to make cheese and cream. So, we took their leftover skim milk and the cheese ends.”

Similar to the culinary TV shows that focus on re-purposing food such as Netflix’s “Best Leftovers Ever!” the students experimented with recipe development and brought their best results before a jury.

The students who were assigned apples made an apple salsa.

“They made it with tomatoes and jalapenos and then canned it, which was really nice,” said Raahede. “It would be good with fish or a potato latke.”

The students who got squash made a squash soup and took that recipe even further, turning it into squash macaroni and cheese. “I thought that was an innovative way to use that vegetable, especially in how they also used some of the cheese from the Pineland Farms surplus,” said Raahede.

The students in the dairy group made a cheesy cracker with local Maine flour, similar to a Cheezit. “They had a few recipes that were very innovative and challenging, but their recipe had the potential for the broadest consumer appeal,” said Raahede.

Now that the students’ presentations are over, there is always the potential for students to take their ideas further with The Mitchell Center in an honors course that might re-purpose this surplus food for local food banks.

While Raahede said KVCC’s Culinary Program has no immediate plan to take any of these recipes to a commercial level, the success of this program has shown the public innovative ways to re-use food that would otherwise end up in landfills.

“Educationally, a big part of what we’re doing here at KVCC is discussing the ideas with the students about food insecurity in Maine,” she said. “We’ve always composted, but now tthese lessons are in the forefront of their minds on how to minimize that compost as much as possible. My hope is when my students go back to their home kitchens, they’ll adapt these lessons into choices around household waste. Additionally, we’re trying to prepare our students for the culinary industry, and if we can change that mindset as they go into the industry, it will have a domino effect.”

To get in touch with Raahede about her program or any other questions email: JReale@kvcc.me.edu

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Winona Elmore just opened her dream shop in Rockport, a farmhouse decor boutique called Gathering Thyme, opposite of Midcoast Recreation Center on Route 90. Her grand opening was Saturday, February 6.

“I had a vision of a place where people could come to find beautiful things for their home,” said Elmore, whose business is a family venture with help renovating the shop from her husband, her daughter, and her son-in-law.

Elmore’s shop is filled with dried flowers, wreaths, and bundles of herbs, along with repurposed, repainted furniture, crafts, candles, gifts, and other comfortable decorations for the home. Her aesthetic is “farmhouse decor,” which derives from the cozy, rustic look of farmhouse interiors.

The Elmore family all have a crafty side, and along with dried flower arrangements, her shop features upcycled furniture her husband repurposed, along with handsewn baby rattles made by her daughter. Gathering Tyme will also sell fresh and silk flowers in the summer.

“I used to own a flower business with my mother-in-law and we made a number of different dried arrangements and sold them at craft shows,” she said. Originally from southern Maine, Elmore is no stranger to retail, having worked in a number of similar shops over the years.

“I’ve always gone home with more products than my paycheck,” she joked.

Although the timing of opening in winter with the COVID-19 virus might have deterred some, Elmore had a passion for making this venture happen.

“You can’t let a pandemic stop your plans,” she said. “I just had to follow this through. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow so you’ve got to go ahead and fulfill your dream.”

The shop is limited to five people currently with COVID-19 capacity protocols in place. They will also be hosting a Valentine’s Day workshop, February 11from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. as Elmore instructs participants how to make a sweetheart wreath, a rosebud bath scrub, and massage oil.

To learn more about the new shop visit them on Facebook and Instagram. Currently, their hours are Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WARREN—With the deepest part of winter upon us and a heightened societal need to stay healthy during a pandemic, a new energy drink bar is set to open in Warren.

Elev8 Energy and Nutrition, owned and operated by Hunter Grindle with assistance from his operations manager, Richard Eaton, plans on opening the first week of February.

Grindle, who also owns Hybrid Fitness, a fitness center in the same building, came up with the idea of a new energy drink bar, after brainstorming with Eaton, one of his fitness clients, about providing people with a protein shake after a workout. With 25 years in the hospitality industry, Eaton suggested they expand the concept to be a full-fledged side business, open to the public as well.

“That’s how the idea originally started and we spent many late nights expanding the concept,” said Eaton, who researched numerous companies who could provide the nutritional component to their energy teas, smoothies, shakes, and coffee.

They settled on Lotus Energy Drinks as the main component, which is made from all-natural plant-based energy from the Lotus flower.

“Lotus Energy Drinks is the same company Disneyland uses,” said Eaton. “The owner of Lotus Energy Drinks has been working with us on a number of flavor ideas.”

The ingredients of each drink contain natural caffeine, antioxidants, and “adaptogens,” which increase energy and resistance to stress. It also stimulates the immune system. With one ounce of these ingredients as the core, Grindle and Eaton build the drink–whether it’s a protein smoothie (with Legion whey protein), a shake, a sparkling drink, or a tea with the option of 35 different Torani flavors.

For their high-protein, low-calorie coffee shakes, they use coffee from Maine Roast. They also make regular coffee with Rock City Coffee, as well as Elev8’s own brands. To round out the drinks, they offer healthy snacks from companies such as Epic Meats and Rx.

Hybrid Fitness has been in the building since October, 2020, but the company has been in business since 2015, formerly situated in Thomaston. The new smoothie and juice bar is located right next to the fitness center, with a lounge area to relax in.

“For our members, we want this to be a place where they can get their post-workout protein shake,” said Grindle. “But, we’re open to the rest of the community too, so even if you’re not working out with us, and nutrition is still a big piece of your own goals, we’re an alternative to fast food energy drinks, and coffees.”

Elev8 is located in a giant brown building of Midcoast Athletic Center at 1767 Atlantic Highway. Keep on top of their grand opening by liking their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—When creative improvisational master Ryan Jackson gets down to serious business, there are going to be a lot of laughs.

The Rockland native is hosting a series of virtual improv workshops for adults through the Farnsworth Art Museum through April. The class, titled “Improv Reprise! Making it up as you go with Ryan Jackson”, is meant to loosen people up and get them to experience new sides of themselves.

A graduate of the University of Maine with a bachelor’s degree in theater, Jackson had a different career path in mind when he first started.

“Originally, I thought I wanted to go to New York and try my hand at acting,” he said. “I’ve been a performer since I was five years old. It’s my biggest passion.”

But as life plans for creatives often go, Jackson found his calling in more regional locales. He started off working at “Summer Shenanigans,” an arts summer camp in Gardiner as assistant director.

He continued to improve his improv skills by joining Everyman Repertory, a professional theatre group in the Midcoast. After that, he started getting gigs teaching improv classes with adults and kids on North Haven.

As if that weren’t enough, he also is the cafe manager and an employee-owner at Rock City Cafe and works as a site coordinator for after-school programming at the Oceanside Middle School.

“I decided I wanted to stick around Maine,” said Jackson. “There are a lot of wonderful opportunities here. All in all, I couldn’t be any happier where I am today.” 

The whole point of Jackson’s improv Zoom class is to introduce participants to the art of creating on the fly—that is, using imagination to break out of carefully conceived self-perceptions through various games, exercises, and theater-based scene work. 

“You don’t have to be good at acting or theater to do improv,” said Jackson. “I give people a chance to really be comfortable in their own skin. My class teaches them tools they can use in everyday situations to be present in the moment. We’re living in very serious times and the bottom line is I just want people to laugh. Improv allows you to be free and open and I think we can all use that.”

One exercise Jackson likes to do is have his participants imagine they are at some kind of TED talk conference with scientists, doctors, and other professionals.

“I’ll call on someone randomly and say I’m so glad you’re here Professor So and So,” explained Jackson. “I’ve heard you’re an expert on New Zealand cucumbers. Can you tell us a little bit more about them?”

This requires people to draw from their childhood skills of play-acting and nonsense. But, more importantly, it encourages people to stop being so self-conscious.

“The stuff that comes out of these participants is remarkable,” he said. “Usually by the end, I have to pick my jaw up off the floor. They totally own those personas at the moment, as if they are an expert on this nonsense thing and that’s what surprises me most. At the end, I see everyone smiling. And people tell me they haven’t laughed like that in months.”

Jackson’s classes can be joined individually and the next one is on February 18. For more information visit the Farnsworth Art Museum’s Event page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

The typical mainstream Valentine’s Day cards you find in supermarkets and stores and on TV commercials generally present a heterosexual angle to the holiday, which doesn’t represent other populations in love. One Greene, Maine couple, Lewis Alessio, and his husband, Jim Shaffer, have been producing creative variations of vintage photograph stationery that tell another visual story.

The couple created In Your Own Words LLC in 2013 to creatively augment vintage photographs into cards and stationery, many featuring men with men and women with women in charming old-fashioned poses.

“Our audience focus is LGBTQ+ but we like to use the term ‘affectionate men, women and children’ for our cards,” said Alessio. “It all started because my husband and I were having difficulty finding cards for each other and friends and loved ones that weren’t insulting, such as two dogs dressed in a tuxedo and evening gown, or outright vulgar.”

Alessio and Shaffer have been collecting vintage images for more than 20 years at yard sales, garage sales, shops, auctions, and online.

The cards and stationery were doing very well before the pandemic, selling in more than 100 small stores across the country.

“We would contact LGBTQ-friendly shops all over the country or shops in urban areas that might be more open to such products,” said Alessio.”But, we had to change our sales focus to Etsy when the pandemic closed nearly all of our small independently owned shops.”

Along the way, In Your Own Words became a certified vendor with the Human Rights Campaign, and pre-pandemic their cards were even sold in Harvey Milk’s camera shop in San Francisco. “We were the only type of cards they sold in the shop, but even that shop has seen sales dwindle so much, so, despite all of the orders we have received from the Human Rights Campaign, that income stream has ceased for the time being.”

Their Etsy store tagline mentions empowering HIV+ Mainers, a mission that Alessio and Shaffer deeply support.

“I was the national CDC’s director of a men’s HIV prevention education program in central Maine for five years,” said Alessio.  “I saw a lot of men and women, who couldn’t hold full-time jobs, but they could work at home. So, this business has been a conflation of a number of things personal to us. I came up with the idea of creating a cottage industry where these men and women would assemble the cards and we would market them. In return, we could compensate them with some income, which we’re still hoping to do to benefit them and benefit our community.”

Since the transfer to online sales, Alessio said they are getting their company name out there, thanks to the efforts of their volunteer, Janet Turner.

“I am limited in my talents, but Janet is a techie,” said Alessio. “She helped us move to online platforms such as Etsy and eBay and does our marketing and social media. She has greatly increased our presence on those sites. We’re so grateful to have her.” Adding a wry commentary, he said.  “I was born in the wrong century.”

To see more of their designs, their cards can be found on their website and on their Etsy store.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKPORT—Midcoast Recreation Center was doing well with its indoor ice skating rink until the COVID-19 virus and its protocols changed their capacity limits. What that meant for the nonprofit organization is that fewer kids and adults could use their facilities. So, to remedy that, they built another ice skating rink outdoors.

“It was partly due to the limited numbers we could offer for public skating for our indoor rink,” said Arena Director Jesse Simko.  “We had people on a waitlist who just wanted to skate. We knew if we built something outside, we could serve more people.”

By mid-January, the 40 x 80-foot outdoor rink was operational with eight to 10 inches of solid ice. 

“We built it a little later than we wanted to,” he said. “Originally, we built the ice rink in December, but soon realized the land was too off-center, so we had to move everything slightly up the hill and bring in more fill, but it’s going pretty well. We’ve been able to get some good days in.”

Half the week (M-W-F), the rink is open to the public all day and the other half (T & TH) it’s open to kids who play hockey. On the weekends, the rink splits its time for both groups.

With screen time for kids soaring during a pandemic that has them remaining at home either from remote learning or through homeschooling, parents have been looking for any socially distant opportunity to get their kids outside and active.

MRC had this concept firmly in mind with the new outdoor rink.

A group of four boys in MRC’s 8U program (seven and eight-year-olds) were on the ice on the day Pen Bay Pilot came to take photos.  Eager to get their energy out, they chased the puck around the rink.

“Because of number restrictions, we wanted to give the option to kids who are doing homeschooling and remote learning to come and play three days a week, especially in the winter,” said Simko.

Inclement weather isn’t a hindrance when it comes to clearing the ice off. They have a hose system with a towel like a mini Zamboni to clear the ice. “When it’s really deep, we need a snowblower,” said Simko, who added, he’d be open to any volunteers who wanted to come help with outdoor clean up after a big snowstorm.

To learn more about MRC’s ice programs visit Midcoast Recreation Center’s website.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Many wondered what would become of the classic Scottish pub Drouthy Bear after owners Andrew and Shannon Stewart announced last May that the COVID-19 virus restrictions on their beloved pub had forced them to permanently close.

The Midcoast community will be happy to know that the building has been purchased and is currently being renovated by Camden newcomers Gabriela Acero and Derek Richard to become a new restaurant. With a new aesthetic and flair, the restaurant will be called wolfpeach—the name in lower case—which comes from Lycopersicum, the scientific name for ‘tomato’.

“It has all come together rather quickly,” said Acero.

Relocating from Oxford, Maine, the couple said the COVID-19 pandemic spurred the leap to open their own business.

“We wanted to take the next step in our lives, both personally and professionally, and find a place where we could put permanent roots down,” she said.

Acero, who grew up in Maine, has more than 10 years of front-of-house experience, ranging from fast-casual to fine dining, mostly in New York City.  Richard, who began his career at Blue Hill Stone Barns in New York, also spent time in Austin pursuing BBQ, until choosing to settle down in Maine. The couple met while opening Oxbow Beer Garden in Oxford in 2019.

“My background is mostly in fine dining in New York and Texas before I landed in Portland,” said Richard. “For this restaurant, we wanted to put together a steakhouse-style menu, where everything is a la carte, which is a familiar format, but modernize it with different cuts of meat—whole-animal butchery. We plan to add a lot more vegetables in the main courses, and of course, make fish and seafood central highlights. It's really important for us to focus on using local and seasonal  ingredients whenever possible.”

Richard mentioned he also specializes in baking naturally leavened sourdough bread.

While several Midcoast restaurants have made the decision to close until spring, and some permanently, Acero and Richard knew they had to adapt their restaurant to the current reality.

“We blocked out our numbers assuming we were going to be operating as take-out only at first, and then perhaps limited seating in the summer,” said Acero. “As someone who has been in this industry a long time, I feel strongly that the tipping culture and lack of job security and benefits have always been problematic, so we’ve built our model to be a non-tipping establishment and our employees will also receive health benefits.”

Acero was careful to clarify that having not opened yet, this model is still something they will need to keep a close eye on, once the restaurant is able to operate at full capacity. “I hope that we can follow through on these goals and promises,” she said. “We’ve worked on this idea for some time and it took the pandemic to see if we can really make this happen.”

 The couple aims to open by March with a slightly modified menu, more suited for take-out.

Updates on the restaurant can be found on their website and on Instagram.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Bernie Sanders launched a million memes from President Biden’s inauguration with his practical jacket, oversized patterned mittens, and grumpy expression. He is not just a mood. He is all of us, to a degree. Some Maine artists and makers have jumped on the trend with their own creations from the meme. Check them out.

Bernie’s Mittens “Mood” Wine Glasses

Lewiston, Maine

The back story: Allison McBride, of Lewiston, has an Etsy shop called popanthro and makes all of her handmade stemless wine glasses to order. After finding a stencil online, and manipulating it a bit, she used her vinyl cutting machine to create the perfect Bernie stencil and transferred it onto her glasses.

“I saw the Bernie meme going crazy online and I just got the idea to adapt it to what I do,” she said. “It’s mostly been positive.”

Cost: $10 each. They can be found on her Etsy Shop.

In her words: “It’s a funny meme and even though I got all different political opinions when I posted it, luckily many people saw the humor in it. I think people are just looking for something to take their mind off things happening in Washington and just have a fun sigh of relief.”

Hand-poured soy candle “Bernie’s Mittens”

Wells, Maine

The back story: Autumn Poulin, creator of DowneastDoodleCandles on Etsy, hand-pours each of her all-natural soy candles. 

She couldn’t help but have a little fun with the Bernie meme for a limited edition candle. A portion of the proceeds of each candle benefits the Kennebunk Animal Shelter. The scent of this candle is a cozy, balsam fir. She makes her own labels and whipped this one up in no time. With an added bit of sass, she lists the “Bern Time” as 50+ hours.

Cost: $20 each. She can be reached through her website.

In her words: “We’re not political at all. Everything is so serious and stressful right now, that I just thought of featuring the mittens as a great way to create something new for these cold days.”

Miniature Felted Bernie figurine

Bridgton, Maine

The back story: Ruth Boisvert, of Bridgton, who operates CryoftheLoomStudio, has always been a needle felter. Inspired by a crocheted miniature Bernie doll that made the national news, she found her inspiration.

“My background is in fine art and once I saw the little crocheted guy on the national news, I saw that she was selling the pattern on Etsy and I had to try one,” she said.  It takes her about five hours to create each little Bernie.

Cost: $95.00. Find them on her Etsy shop. Gallery 302 in Bridgton is carrying them as well. 

In her words: “I don’t see it as a political statement; let’s just be done with politics. I just think he’s a little work of art.” 

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

ROCKLAND—Hundreds of customers of Rockland’s Good Tern Co-op going about their daily shopping in 2020 managed to pull off a hefty contribution to Maine’s nonprofits and organizations, simply by rounding up the change on a purchased item.

Good Tern’s “Round Up For Change” program gave customers the option to round up to the nearest dollar on a purchase or make an outright donation. After one year, that amount was donated to local charities. In 2020, Good Tern was able to donate $9,047 to 16 charities.

“We started this program around five years ago,” said Elissa Bower, the Good Tern Education and Outreach Coordinator. “A number of other co-ops around Maine also do this program. It’s a great way to donate and barely takes any energy.” 

Members of  Good Tern Co-op were able to nominate which Maine organization they wanted to donate to and the staff voted on the final choice. Due to the COVID-19 virus shutting down many establishments last spring, the pandemic impacted the store when it had to close down in April and May.

“We weren’t able to give back to Misfits Rehab and Peace Ridge Sanctuary as we wanted, so we’re going to add them to our 2021 roster,” said Bower.

 In 2019, donations totaled over $11,000, according to Bower, but 2020’s totals were fewer, due to the pandemic’s interruption to the program. As soon as Good Tern was able to re-open again, the program renewed with vigor.

“In July, we decided to give the round-up money to two organizations per month for the rest of the year,” said Bower. “After the death of George Floyd, [a 46-year-old Black man, who was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while being arrested] and in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, we tried to focus on organizations that support Indigenous, Black, and people of color in our state.”

Some of those organizations included Cultivating Community, Somali Bantu Community Association, Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project of Maine, and ACLU of Maine.

In a statement Bower wrote to Good Tern members on why the staff chose certain non-profit organizations, she said, “We continue to reflect on who we are as an organization and ways to further our commitment to the cooperative values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equity, equality, and solidarity.”\

“I know a lot of the organizations that we round up to are extremely grateful that they’ve been chosen and by the end of the year, when you see how much it ends up being, it’s clear those ten cent donations, or in some cases, outright dollar donations, really add up.”

For more information on Good Tern Co-op, visit: https://goodtern.com/

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—A new beer made by Blaze Brewing Co. has an interesting backstory on its autumnal, artistic label.

Massachusetts artist Andrew Houle did the artwork behind the new label. He happened to have a studio in the same building as Channel Marker Brewery in Beverly, Massachusetts. Not only was that extremely convenient to pop over for a pint, but, as it turns out, the brewery’s proximity became a fortuitous connection. 

“Between my coming in for a brew for the last couple years and the brewery owners and staff getting to know me and what I did for a living, Channel Marker hired me to do the label artwork for their first official signature release,” he said. “Since, then I’ve been working with them on their labels for two years.”

If one good beer deserves another, Houle’s latest venture was to create custom artwork for his first Maine brewery: Blaze Brewing Co., which has a Camden location.

The new beer, King Tide, is a bourbon barrel-aged stout with Tahitian vanilla.

According to Blaze Brewing Co.: “It smells and tastes like sugar cookies, black and white cookies, and good whiskey. It is a beer that should be enjoyed in celebration.”

The beer will be released in draft form and in bottles at all Blaze locations January 29.

Given that Blaze Brewing did a collaboration with Channel Marker on a beer, it was only natural they learned about Houle’s work. He spoke with us on the entire process of creating the label.

His process starts with inspiration from the brewery and what they wanted to convey.

The image that Blaze wanted to use for their King Tide  beer was an autumnal depiction of Mount Battie as seen from the Camden Harbor. Houle was inspired to paint the scene from a photograph titled “Camden Harbor in the Fall” taken by Brunswick photographer Benjamin Williamson.

“This is an incredible shot of the harbor, out from the water looking in,” said Houle. “As soon as I saw this, I said, ‘This is a powerful image; I can certainly make a beautiful painting from it.”

“I’m an oil painter, so I create an original oil painting for the next label release and that type of work is a lot different than someone cranking out an image on a computer,” he said.

Houle’s artwork has been described as “American realism” and he started by working on a hard-primed panel with graphite.

“In the course of my career, I very slowly started to figure out that the drawing is a road map for me,” he said. “The better the drawing, the more it translates into a better painting. Typically it takes much more time to get the drawing done first, then add in tone, shading, and detail work. Then, I do an underpainting using burnt sienna regardless if it’s for a beer label, gallery or a commission. Once that’s laid down, I’ll pull off paint and establish tone and warmth. Then I’ll lay down the rest of the color, black line. I just go and go until it’s done or until they’re screaming at me they need this now!  It’s not a fast process, but it makes for a better painting.”

Once the painting is completed and dried and sealed, his business partner and friend of more than 20 years, John Cardinal takes over. Cardinal runs Tryptic Press, a design company.

“He gets in the driver’s seat and does all of the typeset–we work hand in hand, start to finish,” said Houle. “He puts a nice bow on the end result.”

For more information on the artist visit: andrewhoule.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

CAMDEN—Fifteen years ago, Sondra and Jim Hamilton launched a little coffee shop in the heart of downtown Camden on a shoestring budget with fun, eclectic decor.

Today, with more than a decade under their belts and a loyal customer following, Zoot Coffee will continue its artsy vibe in a new, enlarged space, only a few doors down the street.

While the coffee shop is still open in its current location, they’re in the midst of renovating the space at 5 Elm Street, right next to French and Brawn. The storefront, which was most recently occupied by the boutique, Josephine’s,  has been a clothing store for the last decade. Prior to that for more than 100 years, it was the J.C. Curtis Hardware store.

“It’s going to approximately double our space, but we won’t be doubling our seating,” said Sondra. “Instead, it gives us a more flexible space. We’ll have bar seating, a cozy corner with a sofa and a place to lounge, as well as clusters of tables and chairs. Say you’re meeting an old friend, or having a romantic date, if you're having a business meeting with a colleague, or you just want to come in with your laptop and a coffee and sit by yourself— there will be different areas to accommodate those needs.”

As business owners, the Hamiltons are hoping the new shop sets the tone for a new revival of downtown Camden, which has seen an extraordinary number of shops and restaurants close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some areas in the new space will have brick walls and the shop comes with a 12-foot ceiling. More wall space will allow Zoot to continue to highlight exhibitions of local artwork and photographers, as they have continued to do throughout the pandemic. 

“Art has always been important to our space and that’s something we’ll continue to support,” said Sondra.

As far as the food, she said: “We’re going to be very focused on coffee and espresso—that’s always been the hallmark of our business. We’ve always had quiche and soup and we’ll expand that a little bit. I just bought a vintage Scottish pie crust maker from my friend, Andrew Stewart, [former co-owner of The Drouthy Bear] and apparently, these are extremely rare to find in the U.S. So, we’ll be making more sweet and savory hand pies, such as hand-held Shepherd’s pies and mac and cheese pies. The focus is going to be on healthy, simple eating. Many of our items are going to be vegan and gluten-free–as my customers really like those options.”

Sondra said the original Zoot’s aesthetic of being community-minded is here to stay.

“When people come in, everyone feels welcome, like they’re right at home, and we strive to give everybody that feeling,” she said. “We want people to feel that they belong because we’re all good friends here.”

Zoot Coffee is anticipating opening its doors at the beginning of May. Stay tuned to their progress on Facebook and on Instagram.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

Ten months ago, Maine’s brewing industry came to a screeching halt the day after one of the biggest beer-drinking days of the year, St. Patrick’s Day, when the novel coronavirus pandemic prompted Governor Janet Mills to issue an Executive Order on March 18, 2020 to close all bars and restaurants for a period of 14 days.

Back then, for many at the beginning of this unknown pandemic, the assumption was that breweries, bars, and tasting rooms would eventually re-open and it would be business as usual. But, on March 31, when Mills issued the Stay Healthy at Home directive that required Mainers to stay at home at all times unless venturing out for necessary purposes, the brewing industry—like so many other industries in Maine, saw the writing on the wall.

Since the spring, breweries with restaurant service fared a little better. They were able to re-open for indoor service, while breweries with take-out options and outdoor seating were able to capture some of the lost revenue during the summer, but as of November 1, with COVID-19 cases on the rise in Maine, Mills issued a mandate to postpone the opening of indoor seating at bars and tasting rooms.

Lowered excise tax law boosts cost savings for breweries, beer lovers

The industry got a shot in the arm with a new law announced in late December that permanently lowers excise tax for brewers, according to the office of U.S. Senator Susan Collins, who, along with Senator Angus King, and a bipartisan group of 55 colleagues, championed for the law in order to help breweries —and their brewing supply chains—stay open.

Given that Maine has the highest excise tax for beer in New England at $.35/gallon, this came as welcome relief to brewers already cash-strapped from the pandemic.

“In Maine, we have one of the highest state excise tax rates, almost triple some of the New England states,” said Sean Sullivan, executive director the Maine Brewers Guild. “Add that to the production challenge of switching to predominantly canned beer, as well as shortages of aluminum cans, these were additional trends hurting the industry.”

In 2017, the American craft beverage industry got a break when a temporary federal law lowered the excise tax of $7 per barrel to $3.50 per barrel, which was set to expire on December 30, 2020.

“The risk was that as of January 1, that federal excise tax rate was going to go back up to $7 a barrel,” said Sullivan. “More than 25 breweries opened during the last three years that had never paid that amount per barrel, and hadn’t factored that into their costs. Picture yourself as a brewer, heading into a winter where you didn’t have a good economic summer, and then all of a sudden your taxes go up twice the amount you’re used to paying on each barrel.”

“Maine’s beer industry has been on a growth trajectory for years,” said Sullivan. “Maine brewers produced about 365,000 barrels of beer in 2019, which equates to about $1.25 million in revenue. So, to break it down, as of the beginning of 2021, either $1.25 million was going to remain in Maine for breweries to re-invest in their business, or else it was going to go to the federal government in the form of excise tax, if tax rates were raised back to $7 per barrel.”

Maine brewers come together as one brand to collaborate on brew recipe 

Another spot of good news for an industry known for its tight and collaborative communities in all of Maine’s eight regions was the decision to create a Collaboration Beer 2020.

Thirty-nine breweries all over the state, including Liberator Brewing Co., in Rockland, and Waterman’s Beach Brewing, in South Thomaston, received the same donated hops, malts, and grains and one recipe to work off. 

The result of that effort turned into 39 brews, all under one label, each a slightly different flavor based on how they used their own yeast, base malts, and brewing techniques. Proceeds from the beer have not generated some much-needed profit for the industry, but have also gone back as donations to bolster the Maine Brewers’ Guild.

“I’ve tried so many versions of this beer,” said Sullivan. “It’s remarkable how different they taste. I think this Collab Beer is a beautiful example of what makes our industry so special. Amidst the commonality of brewing beer, even often the same style, there is infinite diversity. Wherever you are in Maine, look for this label and check the back for which brewery brewed the beer. ”

For a list of breweries that participated visit Brewbound.com

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

DAMARISCOTTA—Faced with the food limitations necessary for their own family, a baker and her husband have decided to open a completely gluten-free bakery and cafe at 77 Main Street in downtown in mid-January named Butter Up Cakes.

Candice and Patrick Brady have three children.

“Two of our children have celiac disease, are lactose intolerant and can’t have high fructose corn syrup, and my husband is the same way,” said Candice. “So, I make all of their food from scratch, anyway. We decided to open the business so other people with celiac disease could have options, too.”

Originally from Michigan, the Bradys originally started their bakery in Bangor. But, as they found out, it wasn’t the best location, so they decided to relocate to Damariscotta where Patrick took a job with a local construction company.

Set to open January 16, the Bradys have expanded their original store concept from more than just a bakery.  The new cafe will offer all kinds of gluten-free options such as homemade muffins, bagels, donuts, quiche, and breakfast sandwiches. For lunch and dinner, they’ll offer gluten-free soups, chilis, chowders, pasta, salads, and pierogies.

“Everything that comes out of that kitchen I make myself,” she said. “There is nothing processed, frozen, or packaged. I get to the cafe at 6 p.m. to start work, I go home at 6 p.m. at the end of the day and I wake up at midnight to start baking,” she said.

“When someone comes into our cafe, I want people to have as many options as they would at another restaurant; I want them to experience what it’s like to have regular food and feel safe eating it,” said Candice. “Coming from Michigan, I realized a lot of Mainers aren’t used to certain foods. For example, we make pierogies as my husband is Polish. These are basically Polish dumplings. I’ve had Mainers [from our last establishment] come in and ask about them; they’re really intrigued by them.”

Added to the mix, Butter Up Cakes will be the only restaurant in Damariscotta —and the Midcoast for that matter—offering gluten-free beer and hard ciders, which are naturally gluten-free.

“There is no Maine-made gluten-free beer, unfortunately, so we will be sourcing elsewhere, such as the Glutenberg beer from Canada,” said Candice. “With the hard ciders, we’ll be offering Maine-made ciders from the bigger cideries such as Ricker Hill and Kennebec Cider Company, but we’ve also found a couple of smaller cideries that we really want to use, so we’re working on getting those in as well.”

The cafe plans to offer limited in-house dining with respect to COVID-19 precautions, with tables spaced six feet apart. “When things change, we’ll be able to open to full capacity,” she said.

Candice said she expects a gluten-free clientele from all over the state will have an interest in the new location, given their experiences from their last location.

“When we were still in Bangor, we had people come from Presque Isle, from Canada, from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont,” she said. “With everything closing down due to COVID, I think the gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan communities needed to know that there is something here for them, sort of a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Butter Up Cakes also ships their items nationally, as well.

Learn more about Butter Up Cakes from their Facebook page.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

WARREN—It’s been just over a year that Corinna Whitehill started her personal cab company called Corie’s Rides. It’s a service that has been fundamental to the Midcoast community in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic when people are at risk of losing their homes and their cars.

Whitehill got her start in the driving business as the owner and a driver for Mid-Coast Connector, a MaineCare non-emergency transportation broker. It’s a service she still operates, along with eight cars and drivers every day to help folks get to medical appointments. But, along the way, she realized that the general public could use the same kind of driving service.

“In the winter, especially around the two weeks of Christmas and the New Year, when the Mid-Coast Connector was shut down two days during that time, my thought was to open a general cab service to the surrounding Midcoast areas to supplement the other business and to give people more ride options,” she said. “There’s no transportation around here, no way for people to get where they need to go.”

Corie’s Rides took awhile to get off the ground. First, she had to get certain permits to operate in her neighborhood. To comply with an ordinance, she agreed to only operate between Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Officially open in November 2019, she began her business with one car.

Now, a year later, she has two cabs dedicated to Corie’s Rides with a second driver. Her driving area is flexible, and she covers just about every town in Midcoast Maine.

It costs approximately $8 in-town in Warren, Waldoboro, Thomaston, and Rockland and from $12 to $18 town-to-town, depending on the starting and ending location. Other runs are set by mileage, which Whitehill discusses with clients ahead of time.

Her typical clients are people who don’t have vehicles, or whose vehicles are in the midst of being repaired—people who need to get to work, go to the gym, to the store, to medical appointments,  to get errands done, and more.

Unlike a typical cab company, she said she doesn’t charge for wait time.

“I’m not out to get rich,” she said. “I don’t charge for an extra stop. Say, somebody wants to stop at a convenience store on the way I’m driving, I just charge one fare.”

Whitehill said she even does airport runs. Typically, a run from Rockland to the Portland Jetport would average out to be about $165. Although airport rides are rare these days, especially during a pandemic when most people are staying put.

“COVID-19 has really impacted both of my businesses,” she said. “It’s been trickling in.” 

Because Whitehill doesn’t have a website or a business Facebook page, most of her advertising has been word of mouth. Her phone number is 207-691-2701.

Whitehill is proud of what she can offer.

“We’re courteous and friendly to everybody,” she said. “It just makes me feel good that I’m helping people.”

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com