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V O L . X X I I N O. X I V W icked Whoopies has turned the phrase "big whoop" on its head. In the last 10 of the 22 years since Isamax Snacks presi- dent, Amy Bouchard, began baking whoopie pies at home to sell locally, the impulse snack has, "for rea- sons nobody can pinpoint, broken into the national conscience," the New York Times wrote in 2009. In 2011, the whoopie pie became Maine's offi cial state treat, while the Legislature dubbed blueberry pie the offi cial state dessert. Whoopie pies are now baked and sold in gourmet fl avors, multiple shapes and sizes, from coast to coast. ey've come a long way from their humble roots in Pennsylvania Dutch country and their migration to Maine in the 1930s. Bouchard, 49, is arguably the vanguard of the home-to-commercial Maine kitchen for this spe- cialty food product. She has seen business grow from $1,900 her fi rst year to $3 million in 2015. On June 1, she opened a new retail store at 100 Main St, Freeport, opposite the L.L.Bean fl agship store, and a few blocks from her location of eight years. "We were doing well, but had outgrown that space about three years ago," she says. "Now tour buses stop at our front door, and we're catching walkers that we weren't catching before." e new and bigger space has a candy store-coff ee shop feel with a South Beach color scheme, tables and chairs, and an array of individually bagged goodies available in 20 of her 50 fl avors daily. Whoop-dee-doos, whoopie pies dipped in chocolate that Bouchard calls "Ring Dings on steroids," tempt from baskets decorat- ing the center counter. As visitors sit, snack and sip fresh milk from Westbrook's Smiling Hill Farm or a hot cup of Kingfi eld-roasted Carrabassett Coff ee. A seven-foot whoopie pie tower made by an Orlando, Fla., movie set designer serves as whimsical mascot. Wicked Whoopies' brand and evocative ambi- ence seem to fi t Freeport's retail mix. "We've more than doubled the amount of Maine specialty food producers here to 15 over the last 10 years," says Keith McBride, executive director of the Freeport Economic Development Corp. "Cheap deals can be found online. Now people are fl ocking to Freeport for the full range of outdoor activities, in-store experiences and the tasting rooms of Maine-made specialty foods and beverages." It's working. In Bouchard's new location's opening week, she doubled her previous store's weekly sales. Bouchard was in her late 20s and working at Bath Iron Works when her daughter was born. Looking for ways stay at home and still make money, her brother urged her to sell the whoopie pies she'd been making for friends and family since junior high. Iconic treat Wicked Whoopies' business continues to grow B y L i s a J o y P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Isamax Snacks (trading as Wicked Whoopies) 1 Commonwealth Street, Gardiner 04345 Founded: 1994 Founder and president: Amy Bouchard Business: Whoopie pies (retail, wholesale) Employees: 30 FTE Revenue: $3 million in 2015 ($2.5M wholesale) Fun Fact: A batch of 220 mocha whoopie pies contains enough coffee for 440 cups Contact: 207-582-0125 / wickedwhoopies.com Wicked Whoopie founder and owner Amy Bouchard in the new store in downtown Freeport. J U N E 2 7 , 2 0 1 6 14

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