Mainebiz

V O L . X X I X N O. X I M AY 1 5 , 2 0 2 3 20 S M A L L B U S I N E S S F O C U S As a strong winter community, the ski side of the business was slower to take off. "We did pretty well," he says of Allspeed's first season. "It's a very compet- itive market there with all the ski shops. We'll grow it slow and steady." Going forward, "Our next goal is to increase our staffing levels so all of us can take a breath and be spread a little less thin," Carleton says. "It's been pretty chaotic, especially with the Portland move." A growing Deer Isle coffee shop On Deer Isle, Melissa Raftery and Megan Wood opened 44 North Coffee in December 2010. e idea for the busi- ness was sparked when they each were ordering beans from around the U.S. for their own use and realized they had a potential business. Funding the business primarily through internal cash flow, they found a source of green, unroasted beans through a fair-trade importer, Cooperative Coffees. eir first roastery was on the second floor of an old schoolhouse. "It meant we had to carry 150 pounds bags up to roast them, then carry them back out to ship them," says Raftery. "We had no idea what we were doing but we did it all — long, long days." ey bought a building in downtown Deer Isle, at 7 Main St., and put the roastery and a café on the first floor with offices upstairs. e growth potential was limited by the tight space. ey could only fit one palette — 10 burlap bags — of coffee in the 300-square-foot roastery at a time. In April 2020, they expanded into a nearby building that had 2,000 square feet and a double-door garage, which, after a total rehab, was perfect for a dedi- cated roastery. It was big enough to quadruple the inventory space and to accommodate a second roasting machine, doubling their capacity for small-batch produc- tion that's carefully tended for taste and smell. It also allowed them to expand the café in the first spot. With a second café in Stonington, the staff is 15 employees across the three loca- tions. e dedicated spaces have accom- modated growth, largely in the wholesale segment. And 44 North has expanded from selling coffee to merchandise and grab-and-go food and beverage items. "is move into a proper roastery has been phenomenal," says Wood. Sales are 15% via the web, 45% direct through retail, and 40% wholesale to restaurants and food co-ops. e coffee has received featured product placement through the Lost Kitchen, a Freedom restaurant that's gained national renown under the helm of Erin French. "at exploded our internet sales this winter," says Raftery. In 2022, they roasted about 60,000 pounds of green coffee and grew rev- enues 22% — a rate partly due to the return of in-person customers after the pandemic. Also contributing to the growth are the addition of pantry items in the cafés; and more people moving to Deer Isle since the pandemic, resulting in a slight uptick in the year-round customer base. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 2 2 » Melissa Raftery, left, and Megan Wood bought a facility to create a dedicated roastery for their Deer Isle company 44 North Coffee, doubling their production capacity and café space. P H O T O S / C O U R T E S Y 4 4 N O R T H C O F F E E Dedicated spaces have accom- modated growth, largely in the wholesale segment. This move into a proper roastery has been phenomenal. — Megan Wood 44 North Coffee

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