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V O L . X X V I I N O. X M AY 1 7 , 2 0 2 1 16 S M A L L B U S I N E S S F O C U S CHEBEAGUE ISLAND Slow Bell Café In January, the owner of Slow Bell Café on Chebeague Island set up a GoFundMe campaign in hopes of mak- ing it through 2021. May Hall is director of nursing at Falmouth By the Sea and also owns the café, an important part of life in this small community. She splits summers between nursing and the café. "I nap in the winter," she jokes. Last year saw a 60% drop in revenue. Hall kept things going with loans and her own savings. But taxes, leases, wages, bills and startup costs for 2021 were overwhelming. e matching-grant GoFundMe set a goal of $20,000. e fundraiser helped Hall deal with outstanding bills and put in fencing to designate safe distancing. Many employees are returning. is year, she opened part-time in January. "e island is a really small commu- nity, so we've been opening for take-out," she says. e plan is to start indoor and outdoor dining with safety protocols by Memorial Day weekend. ey've booked a number of weekends with live music outdoors. "I just really appreciate the commu- nity's support," she says. "We also had people who weren't willing to go out but donated money to keep us afloat." MACHIAS Machias River General Store In 2019, two couples, Gina and Harry Finn and Isaiah and Caissie Roberts, bought a building and store at 25 Main St. in Machias. e Finns and Isaiah Roberts established the Machias River General Store. Caissie started a store called Sew Fetch Dog Collars. Gina also teaches and Harry and Isaiah are with the U.S. Merchant Marine. ey stocked the store with goods from Maine-based companies. Vendors include Monica's Chocolates in Lubec and Momo's Cheesecakes in Ellsworth. "We've done really well," says Gina. Early in the pandemic, Gina closed the store until safety protocols were in place, then reopened for curbside pickup. With only one supermarket in the area, she says, she felt it was important to continue to make her bulk, organic and allergen-free items available. Locals responded by stopping in even more. AARON THIBODEAU SERVICE TECHNICIAN Is Your Facility AAA Safe? Contact us to learn about customized HVAC-R service plans for your facility. AAAENERGY.COM CUSTOMIZED MAINTENANCE AGREEMENTS SYSTEM UPGRADES FOR VIRAL MITIGATION HEPA FILTERS, UV LIGHTS, ION GENERATORS HVAC-R ENGINEERING FOR SAFER BUILDINGS DEDICATED TECHNICIANS PIT TSFIELD, ME | SCARBOROUGH, ME | AUBURN, NH » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E P H O T O S / C O U R T E S Y S L OW B E L L C A F É A successful GoFundMe campaign in January helped May Hall continue operations at Slow Bell Café on Chebeague Island.

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