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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 S E P T E M B E R 6 , 2 0 2 1 Pandemic has been fertile ground for startups 1. Inc. 5000 list has a few surprises among 12 Maine businesses named fastest-growing in US 2. AC Hotel in Portland sold to Virginia real estate investment trust for $67M 3. Portland may seize land from failed Midtown development for site of 700- space garage 4. Thar she blows: Maine retailer sued by clothing chain in epic-like hunt for whale logo 5. 10-story InterMed tower in Portland sold to out-of-state investor 6. A well-known Yarmouth restaurant hits the market 7. Arbitrator upholds firing of Lobster 207 co-op CEO, clearing way for racketeering lawsuit 8. A marriage of two food purveyors moves forward in Scarborough 9. Maine Maritime Museum looks to head off lawsuits over schooner capsizing 10. Is your business reconsidering its in-person operations or workspace plans because of the resurgence of COVID-19? From the Editor W orking from home, remote operations, man- dated closures, layoffs, the Great Resignation — 2020 offered a whole host of reasons why we're now seeing startups cropping up all over. We're all witnessing this in Maine. We've seen an influx of new people move here. We've seen housing prices skyrocket. We've seen longtime restaurants and businesses put up "for sale" signs. We've seen a wave of retirements from key posts in the private sector, public sector and at nonprofits. We've seen a shift to doing many meetings on Zoom. And while students are (mostly) heading back to school this fall, we'll probably still see young kids in the back- grounds of Zoom calls. All these factors and a whole lot of others are contributing to changes in the workforce, changes in the workplace and changes in the business climate in Maine. We don't normally associate the word "startup" with child care businesses, but a need arose when schools were closed but parents continued to work, albeit at home. As Renee Cordes reports, we've seen a surge in child care operations. See "Baby steps," which starts on Page 18. Brewers have seen disruptions in business in the past 18 months, yet new ones keep opening. e new arrivals are focusing on even more-defined niches — with specialty brews, a more carved out audience or a clever twist on an old theme. See Catie Joyce- Bulay's report, "Brewing niche businesses," which starts on Page 22. Our cover story also shows an entrepreneur's knack for finding a foothold in the marketplace — in this case, for products from the sea. See Laurie Schreiber's story, "Fishing for profit," which starts on Page 14. Elsewhere in the issue, the list is the largest Maine Technology Institute investments, on Page 30. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz Featured @ Mainebiz.biz For a daily digest of Maine's top business news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is our most popular content for the period from Aug. 16–30. P H O T O / W I L L I A M H A L L 2 bernsteinshur.com Be eff icient. BE SHUR. When you're looking for a law firm to dig deep into your mat ter —not your budget. 2020 offered a whole host of reasons why we're now seeing startups cropping up all over.

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