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V O L . X X V I I N O. X I I I J U N E 2 8 , 2 0 2 1 24 FA M I LY - OW N E D B U S I N E S S F O C U S Larson says customers don't distin- guish between who owns the space. "We try to market the mall and the entire area as a single entity," he says. "at's how customers see us, and we all benefit from each others' success." He wasn't so sure about the place when he and June bought it in 2003. He'd been working for a Connecticut- based developer that scouted retail sites and was familiar with the area. When the mall was first built, in 1986, he thought it was an awful loca- tion. But when the Coastal Connector was built in the late 1990s for a straight shot to the coast that bypassed down- town Brunswick and Topsham, that changed. e connector, which starts next to the mall at Exit 31A on Interstate 295, now has average daily traffic of 54,000 vehicles, according to Maine Department of Transportation. When he and June bought the mall 18 years ago, it was 30% empty, doomed by the huge vacancy left when anchor Bradlees department store shut down in 2001 when the chain went bankrupt. "To my wife, the dirtiest four-letter word in the English language is 'debt,'" Larson says. ey doubled-down on making the mall work, with Village Candle moving into the Bradlees space, using it for both manufacturing and retail. e other spaces began to fill up. When Village Candle left, Renys moved in. Keeping it local Businesses, both national and local come and go. RadioShack, Ruby Tuesday and a stream of local retailers have said hello, then good-bye. But the center rarely has a vacancy for long. Larson says that one reason he likes local businesses is that he can pick up the phone, or walk over, and talk to someone if there's a roof leak or some other issue. With national companies, communica- tion is with a corporate office somewhere far away, and is much more complicated. Tenants say that goes both ways. Fairgrounds Café owner Perry Leavitt says that the Larsons' hands-on presence is what makes the shopping center hum. e café is an original tenant, and Leavitt doubled his space five years ago. "He cares about the tenants," Leavitt says. "He works with us, and it makes all the difference." at was never so important, Leavitt says, as when the pandemic hit. "Without John working with people like he did, we never would've made it," Leavitt says. "It's how we survived." Larson says allowing businesses time to adjust was the obvious choice. "ey can't pay the rent if they can't be open," he says. "It wasn't their fault." He adds, "We all suffer together." e shopping center lost two ten- ants during the pandemic, and one was national chain Ruby Tuesday, which was part of a corporate bankruptcy. A keen feel for how different ten- ants operate helps as well. Sunset Farms owner Roy Wallace takes care of property maintenance, and his family farm also sells flowers and ice cream at separate stands in the parking lot. As the plan formulated to build space that will be occupied by Jersey Mike's Subs in an area of the parking lot occupied seasonally by Sunset Gardens, Larson says he made sure the farm would not be negatively affected. "ey're a great family business to work with," Larson says. When Highbrow sought to expand to the now-vacant 6,155-square-foot Ruby Tuesday building, Larson was surprised, since it's restaurant space, but was on board when the com- pany said that's what was needed for expanded edibles production. Jo-Ann Stores, owner of JOANN Fabrics, has also thrived, expanding from 8,000 square feet to 18,000 over the decade-plus it's been there. e Larsons occupy a closet-sized office next to Renys. It's kind of like a ground-level air traffic control booth, with Jeffrey manning several comput- ers and the phone in front of windows that look out over the parking lot. ey don't need a lot of space. "We're not a store," Larson says. "We don't sell anything." He gestures out the window. "is is what we do." Maureen Milliken, Mainebiz senior writer, can be reached at mmilliken @ mainebiz.biz Confused about payroll or time and attendance during these uncertain times? We're not. Call now, gain a partner for the long haul. Time & Attendance Solutions Payroll Processing Worker's Comp Pay-As-You-Go PAYROLLMGT.COM 800-734-6880 Real People. Really Great Service. 46 Years of Building Maine B R U N S W I C K 2 0 7-7 2 5 - 4 3 0 4 I N F O @ P O U L I N C O N S T R U C T I O N M E . C O M HOTELS RESTAURANTS ASSISTED LIVING MULTI-USE OFFICE SUITES » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Any time we can be associated with Maine- owned businesses, it's good for us. — Joe Corey Day's Jewelers

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