Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 J U N E 1 , 2 0 2 0 F O C U S L E W I S T O N / A U B U R N / W E S T E R N M A I N E Hannaford spokesman Eric Blom says that while stores in the two states are similar in many ways, the key differ- ence is the origin of local products avail- able to shoppers in each state. "We are committed to partner- ing with vendors as local to our stores as possible, resulting in more New Hampshire-based products in our New Hampshire stores and more Maine- based products in our Maine stores. is is the result of direct-to-store deliveries from local farmers and food produc- ers." Elsewhere, Hannaford has 50 stores in New York, 17 in Vermont and 16 in Massachusetts. More recent to the New Hampshire market is Casco-headquartered building materials supplier Hancock Lumber, which has had a store, or lumberyard, in North Conway since 2010. "New Hampshire is super-important for our sellers and builders who live close to the border," says Kevin Hancock, chairman and CEO of the family- owned firm established in 1848. "eir work regularly crosses the border." Hancock says he's not paid much attention to differences in how the two states responded to the COVID-19 crisis and are reopening their economies, saying, "Everybody is doing the best they can with a tough situation." He also says that his firm's Kennebunk location serves lots of customers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts as well as Maine, where it has nine stores, three sawmills, a truss plant called Mainely Trusses in Fairfield and a home office in Casco, for a total of 14 locations. It owns more than 12,000 acres of timberland. As an essential business during the pandemic, Hancock Lumber has kept all 530 employees coming in to work every day since the middle of March, adapted for physical distancing and other precautions. Hancock, a self-described optimist by nature, says that while some home renovation project work slowed in the last couple of months, it is starting to pick up again. "e construction industry before COVID-19 was really in a good place, so we had good momentum coming into this," he says. "In the long run, COVID- 19 probably enhances the importance of how people feel about home. Home is really a bit of a sanctuary for people, so I think housing is probably actually becoming more important in people's minds. In the short run, this is a big challenge for the economy, but in the long run, Maine and all of us here are very resourceful, and we can do this." Getting grander in the Granite state Back at Saco River Brewing in Fryeburg, Vincent says that while he would have preferred to enter New Hampshire sooner, plans were held up until recently because out-of-state brewers aren't allowed to truck their own beer there. en along came Vacationland Distributors, a 15-employee firm founded in 2014 with a growing portfolio that even boasts some Belgian names. But it was a brand from Vermont — Lawson's Finest Liquids — that impressed Vincent, a Vermont native now living in Albany Township, near Bethel. "We used to track down their Sip of Sunshine IPA when it was being released. I thought, 'If Lawson's trusts these guys, they must be doing some- thing right.'" While the original thought was to start with North Conway about 10 miles away, Vincent says the distri- bution reach is already "a lot further than we expected," from Littletown at the northern edge of the White Mountains down to Manchester and Portsmouth. "It's kind of blown my mind that during this really unfortunate time, we've been able to push our brand when normally we might not be able to do that, and ease into it without the stress of having to keep the kegs and tap room open," Vincent says. "It's allowed us to get into New Hampshire and start building our relationships with beer stores." e brewer has grand plans for an even further reach into Maine's neighbor to the west. "At some point," Vincent says," we're hoping we'll be from the top of New Hampshire to the bottom of New Hampshire." R e n e e C o r d e s , M a i n e b i z s e n i o r w r i t e r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t r c o r d e s @ m a i n e b i z . b i z a n d @ r s c o r d e s Helping you get your team back to work safely O P E N TO E V E RYO N E , E V E RY DAY, F ROM 8 A . M . - 8 P. M . I N To schedule your education session or to learn more, please contact us at 207-577-6494 Maine Urgent Care is now offering a screening solution to help you get your business back up and running after the pandemic. Our Return to Work screening solution is a program designed to help Maine employers with screening techniques to ensure their teams and places of business are safe as we re-open our doors. The onsite education session includes: • How to set up the screening area at your business • Steps for screening employees • Review of equipment needed for screening • Guidelines for handling employees who screen positive www.ma ine u rge ntca re.co m New Hampshire is super-important for our sellers and builders who live close to the border. — Kevin Hancock Hancock Lumber

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