Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 19 M AY 2 7 , 2 0 2 4 F O C U S L O C A L LY G ROW N T he Maine Grains building — situ- ated in the heart of Skowhegan in the old 14,000-square-foot former Somerset County prison — has in recent years become something of a business hub. e ground floor has the cafe Miller's Table at Maine Grains, with a wood-burning pizza oven, seating and display cases filled with brownies, loaves of bread and cookies. ere is a Maine Grains retail store, with cookbooks, cooking utensils and memo- rabilia. Also on the ground floor, artisan cheese- maker Crooked Face Creamery has a cheesemak- ing operation and retail storefront. In the upper floors, there's a radio station and a vast collection of cookbooks. A related business, Canaan-based Good Crust, makes pizza dough from Maine Grains flour. And of course the building houses the grist mill that processes and packages the grains. e person behind Maine Grains is CEO Amber Lambke, who has also been a catalyst for related startups. (Her twin sister, Heather Kerner, is the owner of the Good Crust.) To source organic and heritage grains, Maine Grains works with 20 distributors and 45 farmers. Maine Grains, co-founded in 2012 by Lambke and Michael Scholz, serves bakers, brewers, chefs and consumers with fresh-milled, organic and heritage grains sourced from Maine farmers. e business was launched with a focus on help- ing to revitalize the local economy and to help con- nect farmers, millers and bakers. Lambke said, while you could buy local produce, meats and cheeses, there weren't any local grain options. "I was volunteering at our local farmers' market when I realized that local grains were missing from the conversations," says Lambke. "Farmers were growing 'cover crops' like rye and oats but didn't see much of a market for them," she adds. "ere were no food-grade markets for these crops. We needed machinery to take out the weed seeds; quality was a problem. We saw the food movement changing things. Farmers' markets have rules that you must pro- duce or grow the food locally, yet bakers were allowed to sell bread [without locally sourced grain]. ere was an awakening among the food movement." Today, Maine Grains has around 20 employees and annual revenue of $2.3 million. Maine Grains and Lambke have been key driv- ers in the growth of Skowhegan, population 8,603, which is undergoing changes in its downtown and on the Kennebec River waterfront. The proposed farmers' market Lambke is about to launch what may be her biggest undertaking yet, developing an adjacent lot that will allow for expanded Maine Grains operations. Lambke proposes to construct a building on the empty lot next door that could house the Skowhegan Farmers' Market; Maine Grains administra- tive offices; space to blend and package grains for value-added products; online order fulfillment; and rental space for entrepreneurs. It would also have an expanded dry goods shop with a demonstration area and a large social hall to accommodate the winter farmers' market and community gatherings. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » SALES@WAREBUTLER.COM Ware-Butler will supply products to earthwork and concrete jobs, roads/ bridges/construction jobs, grow businesses, storage units, livestock farms, health centers and commercial buildings of all types, infrastructure projects such as sand-salt sheds and municipal buildings, etc. WAREBUTLER.COM CONTACT US for your non-residential and commercial construction needs statewide in Maine. Put our statewide buying power and experienced sales team to work for you! Fabric / Pipe / Culverts / Styrofoam insulation / Construction lumber Sheet goods / Millwork / Metal roofing and siding products PRODUCTS OFFERED: AND MORE!

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