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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 17 S E P T E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 4 F O C U S A U G U S TA / WAT E R V I L L E / C E N T R A L M A I N E and the people you see downtown but the pride and the effort that goes into that as well." e Art Center will also welcome a new tenant, Borderlands Coffee, which operates a seasonal craft coffee cart in Belgrade. is change comes after former tenant Bixby & Co., closed a choco- late cafe there. Owner Kate McAleer told Mainebiz that she closed the cafe in early 2024 to consolidate retail operations into Bixby's Rockland headquarters. "We are grateful to the Waterville community for the support they showed us," says McAleer. "is change was part of a larger strategic plan for Bixby & Co." Art center has brought more people to the downtown Jason Furchak, the owner of Holy Cannoli at 70 Main St., has been a busi- ness owner downtown for five years and has seen many changes. "We watched this building go up and the previous building come down," says Furchak, referring to the Paul J. Schupf Art Center. "We watched the new Main Street be built from infrastructure and everything up to the finished pavement. We have seen a significant difference in traffic down here, a lot more foot traffic and a lot of people visiting the art center. "We have seen a lot more people coming downtown in the evenings, a lot more people on the weekends, people coming downtown to catch a movie or take a clay-making class and just experi- ence some of the things the art center has to offer," says Furchak. With the new art center and the new 12-foot sidewalks being built, Furchak says the foot traffic downtown has grown exponentially which has been helping the storefronts in the area. New businesses moving in, developing busi- nesses are booming from the outskirts of town to the downtown area this is the epicenter of Waterville right now. Along with new businesses comes worries about parking, but Waterville is not short on that. Furchak said that he has been working with the town to make sure that the downtown area has plenty of parking from street and lot parking. All parking in Waterville is free. LEARN MORE Building Spaces That Inspire MEET OUR PANELISTS SP ONSORED BY Six Maine CEOs will each share 10 ideas on their keys to success in business and life covering everything from how to successfully run and operate a business, to effective ways to motivate and manage people. 7:30–10:30AM / DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL, SOUTH PORTLAND OCTOBER 9 Register today at mainebiz.biz/60in60Portland MEET OUR PANELISTS MODERATOR Drew Dumsch Adam Platz Kerem Durdag Gretchen Johnson Kevin Schohl Tabitha Swanson Linda Varrell P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Zachary Brann, owner of Main Street Provisions in Waterville. C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E »

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