Mainebiz

V O L . X X X I I N O. X V I I A U G U S T 1 0 , 2 0 2 6 10 Street Sense by Renee Cordes, Mainebiz deputy editor, is a monthly column offering on-the-ground glimpses of small business life in Maine. Renee can be reached at rcordes @ mainebiz.biz Street Sense N ot long after Maine became a state in 1820, Colburn Shoe Store opened for business in Belfast, a town on Penobscot Bay that has reinvented itself many times over. From a shipbuilding hub in the 19 th century, it grew into an industrial center for poultry, sardine and potato processing by the 1950s. People still talk about the feathers that once flew through the air when Belfast touted itself as the "Broiler Capital of the World." Today, the 7,000-population city swells with visitors every summer. While many pass through for lunch or a photo with the turquoise-colored Colonial eatre topped by a guardian elephant, others stay to soak in this gem of a downtown. Colburn Shoe Store, owned by the Horne family for five generations, has been at its current location since 1905. e plaque on the façade reading "America's oldest shoe store" belies the dozens of modern brands stocked inside. It draws shoppers from all across the country. "We've become a destination," owner Colby Horne says. With a mix of independent retail- ers and cozy eateries lining its sloping Main Street, Belfast has also become a destination. With no empty store- fronts in sight, the pedestrian-friendly downtown boasts gift shops, galleries, clothing boutiques, a hardware store, a food co-op, a barber shop, three book- stores and a video rental store. But retail is only part of the story in this shire city that's also a regional service center, with four times as many people commuting in for work than the other way around. Unlike other coastal towns bisected by U.S. Route 1, a bypass route built in 1962 — controversial at the time — helped preserve Belfast's walkable downtown with year-round appeal that includes a working waterfront anchored by Front Street Shipyard. "e stores do not close down, the restaurants stay open and in February we even have an ice festival," says Dorothy Havey, president and CEO of the Belfast Area Chamber of Commerce. Cold and ice seem far off on a week- day morning in late July, when stores up and down Main Street are doing a brisk business. At Out On a Whimsey Toys, a boy flourishes a toy sword inside this palace of playthings teeming with costumes, stuffed animals and neon- colored NeeDoh brand squishy globs that owner Deborah Hall says are all the rage on TikTok. Once it was a gift store, "then all of a sudden there was another gift store, P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Colby Horne, fifth-generation owner of Colburn Shoe Store in Belfast, says customers come from all across the country. Main Street mojo Belfast finds its groove in downtown independent retail P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R The Consumers Fuel Co. building, a Belfast landmark listed in June for sale at $1.75 million. Veronica Sazera, co-owner of Vinolio, calls Belfast "a miniature big city."

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