Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I N O. I JA N UA R Y 1 1 , 2 0 1 6 8 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E Skowhegan Main Street expands beyond downtown A downtown revitalization organiza- tion in Skowhegan is expanding its designated focus area to include all of Skowhegan, shifting its focus to economic development throughout the community. e Morning Sentinel reported that Skowhegan Main Street's new district map closely matches the town's downtown tax increment financ- ing district, but it also includes areas that traditionally have not been served by the nonprofit organization. Main Street Skowhegan Executive Director Kristina Cannon told the paper that it means more businesses will be included in the organization's service area. "Skowhegan is on the verge of some- thing big right now, and Main Street wants to be involved with others to raise Skowhegan up," Cannon said. Investment paying off for ski resorts Ski areas in Maine say investment in snowmaking technology helped them weather an unusually warm start to the season. e Portland Press Herald reported that Mount Abram in Greenwood, Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley and Sunday River in Newry have all benefited from the new technology that allows snow to be made at 32 degrees, as opposed to the 28 degrees required by older systems. Mount Abram, which opened for the season at the start of December for the first time in its 55-year history, invested more than $475,000 last year on 25 snow guns and a high-pres- sure water pump, the Press Herald reported. Sugarloaf 's snowmaking capacity has doubled since 2010 with the help of $2.5 million in investments in water pipes and new low-energy guns, and Sunday River has spent $15 million in a revamped snowmaking system over the past six years. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N The Maine Health Access Foundation in Augusta announced the award of $672,887 in Access to Quality Care program grant funding to Franklin Memorial Hospital, MaineHealth CarePartners (Knox County) and Penobscot Community Health Care to expand access to quality health care for the uninsured. Chalmers Insurance Group in Bridgton, in partnership with MEMIC, announced it will return over $400,900 in dividend checks to its mutual clients. Lipman & Katz, a law firm in Augusta, announced it will relocate to 5 Community Drive in January. Maine Parent Federation Inc., a Farmingdale organization that pro- vides support and training to profes- sionals and parents of children with disabilities or special health care needs, received $200,000 from the U.S. Department of Education under the Parent Training and Information Center Program. Developer drops Ellsworth condo plan Strong neighborhood opposition to a proposed housing development in Ellsworth has led the applicant to withdraw her plan.e Ellsworth American reported Susan Harvey Chavez had proposed building either condominiums or apartments, or both, at 10 Parcher St. Chavez wrote the Ellsworth's city planner that she's "very tired of the smear campaign" and saw "absolutely no chance of ever getting approved" by the city's planning board, accord- ing to the paper. Chavez bought the property earlier this year. e application was to build a nine-unit housing project that could have been marketed as either condos or apart- ments, but neighbors said it wasn't a good fit for their neighborhood. Allowed uses for residential projects in that district that do not require planning board review include single-family homes and duplexes, according to the paper. Yacht built in Maine wins major Australian race A yacht built in Maine won a 628-nautical-mile won the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race for the first time in the race's history. e 100-foot monohull was built by Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay. "Comanche" is owned by billion- aire Netscape founder Jim Clark and his wife, former Australian supermodel Kristy Hinze-Clark. Cousins Maine Lobster to expand to Nashville Cousins Maine Lobster, which gained notoriety with a $55,000 investment on ABC's "Shark Tank," plans to open a franchise in Nashville, Tenn., in April, one of the company's co-owners confirmed. "We have 18 trucks throughout the United States in 11 cities," Jim Tselikis, co-owner of the food truck company with his cousin Sabin Lomac, told Mainebiz. "Nashville will be our twelfth location." The company also has a restaurant in West Hollywood, Calif. The franchisees in Nashville are co-owners and co-operators Craig Betts, a former insurance broker, and Quinn Raines, who was in the medical business. Tselikis said they are a good choice to run the new truck because of their com- bination of business and customer experience. Tselikis said he and his cousin chose Nashville because its music scene, events and potential for catering make for a target-rich market in which to sell their lobster products. "They can cover a 30- to 45-mile radius," he said, adding that the Nashville operation could have sales of $400,000 to $500,000 in its first year of opera- tion. Tselikis said the existing trucks average anywhere from $400,000 to $800,000 in annual sales. "It's going to be a unique product to this market. It's hard to find quality seafood here," Betts told the Nashville Business Journal. The Cousins' cousins made a name for themselves when New York real estate magnate Barbara Corcoran offered them $55,000 for 15% of their com- pany on "Shark Tank" in 2012. Tselikis says the company has not had to raise money since then. The two men and Corcoran still have weekly meetings by Skype or phone. Tselikis credits Corcoran with giving them good advice on business, product packaging and other matters, plus "huge exposure and marketing." In October, the cousins brought all of their franchisees to Portland to see where the lobster they are selling comes from. On Jan. 21, the "Shark Tank" spinoff "Beyond the Tank" will run a segment on the company. Tselikis said Cousins Maine Lobster, which has about 40 employees, just a handful of whom are in Portland, will have $10 million in revenue this year and is profitable. — L o r i V a l i g r a P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y C O U S I N S M A I N E L O B S T E R Cousins Maine Lobster's co-owners Sabin Lomac (L) and Jim Tselikis (R), with new Nashville co-operator and franchisee Craig Betts. The Maine Humanities Council in Portland was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for $145,000 in the new "Humanities in the Public Square" category. The project, "A Broad and Sure Foundation: The 14th Amendment in American Life and Imagination," will provide Mainers opportunities to explore ideas and issues connected with the 14th Amendment, in particular three key provisions of citizenship, due process and equal protection of the law. The People's United Community Foun- dation, the philanthropic arm of People's United Bank in Portland, announced that it awarded $10,000 to Good Shepherd Food Bank to support the Food Mobile Hunger Relief program in the Auburn- Lewiston and Bangor regions. M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N

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