Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I I N O. X I I I J U N E 1 2 , 2 0 1 7 28 S M A L L B U S I N E S S F O C U S e main part of the store went back to 1866, says Mike Roy who, with his wife Cheryl, was the most recent owner, prior to BGRE. Since 1872, it's operated continuously as a general store. "I think we were the ninth owner," says Roy. "I'm proud of being part of its history." e Roys bought the store in 2003, let it go for a short while in 2007 due to family illness, and bought it back a few years later. During their owner- ship, the couple improved operations considerably. "It had no computer system, no inventory control," Roy says. "We put in a computer system, and a larger kitchen to do more prepared foods and a lot of baked goods. When I bought it the second time, I had a café in there, which did very well. Every day we'd have a lunch special and sandwiches and soups. It really was fun." Another family illness prompted Roy to sell the store to BGRE in early 2015. e LLC's members include Manheimer, a full-time resident of nearby Sargentville, and others who are seasonal residents. "For us, it was an investment," Manheimer says. "We wanted to see the store continue." In 2015, the investors set up a lease-to-purchase option with a tenant, Steve Nygren, former chief fi nancial offi cer at Brooklin Boat Yard. Later that year, Nygren was arrested for allegedly embezzling $730,000 from the boatyard. Without an operator, the store closed in February 2016. e inves- tor group got back in and hired a local building inspector to evaluate a possible remodel. e building had some deferred maintenance when it was rented to Nygren; ultimately, the inspection revealed it would be more cost-eff ective to tear down the exist- ing structure, which had no founda- tion or insulation. e building was demolished in April 2016. Working with architect Lauren Reiter of Brooklin and Eaton Builders of Blue Hill, the goal was to achieve a similar general store feel but with modern sys- tems, amenities such as a front porch and fl exible spaces, says Manheimer. " e display shelving and coolers are all on wheels so they can be moved, if you want to have a birthday party or a book reading or poetry sessions or music," he says. "So we'll be able to use it for special events in a way the other store couldn't." e plan calls for sourcing local produce where possible. "We have great local farmers so we're reaching out to them," he says. "We have a code-compliant commercial kitchen, and we hope to focus on prepared foods. We'll also off er the same things the old store did — pizza, gas, convenience items, gloves for fi shermen." Further plans call for a boat provi- sioning service. "We want to be service-oriented for people who call from the water," he says. "We want to get orders to the local docks and boatyards. And catering is something we want to get into as well." L S , M a i n e b i z s t a f f writer, can be reached at @ . a n d @ M R E I » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E Making it as a small store A 2016 report commissioned by the nonprofi t Island Institute in Rockland identifi ed challenges to profi tably running Maine's coastal general stores: ¡ High coastal real estate values and property taxes ¡ Small year-round populations ¡ Signifi cant seasonal population declines in the winter. In response, owner-operators of four stores included in the study tried new strategies to diversify revenue streams, like increasing value-added products or expanding services. The owner-operator concept is also important to success: The report found that relationships with the community are crucial. The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving The display shelving and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on and coolers are all on wheels so they can be moved ... So we'll be able to use it for special events in a way the other store couldn't. — Robert Manheimer Brooklin General Store

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