Prime Cut

Prime Cut owner and stylist Claire Ocando doesn't have a business degree, but she does have a business pedigree.

Claire's father, Lionel Giguere, owned Giguere's Market on Ticonic Street. Gerard Giguere, an uncle of Claire's, bought a controlling-stake in Ware-Butler in 1952, and it has been in the family ever since. David Mathieu, founder of Mathieu's Auto Body, married one of Claire's aunts, Yvonne, and the business continues on through his grandson, Jim.

Claire's sister and brothers also own businesses. Charlie Giguere owns Champions Fitness Club, and Elm City Photo is owned by Celine Giguere Goodine, and her husband, John. Read the whole story...

Adams & Worth Home Furnishings

Adams & Worth is set-up like a small home, where visitors to the kitchenette will find utensils, placemats, and dishware; in the living room are rugs, plaques with sentiments on them, and framed prints along the walls. The bedroom area features oak bed frames with quilts on them.

Owner Jane McIntosh bought the business in January 2010 from Cathy Taylor. Paula and George Gordon, founders of The Maine Made Shop (aka Maine Made and More), opened the store in 2003. The name comes from the Gordons' mother's maiden names. "I considered changing the name, thinking that maybe this store needed a fresh start and a new identity," says McIntosh. "I realized that Mrs. Adams and Mrs. Worth were still living, and it's quite an honor to have now met them." McIntosh feels that it was with heartfelt sentiment that the Gordons chose to honor two women who were really important to them, and therefore, important to her now that she owns the store, one she is very happy to own. Read the whole story...

The Midnight Blues Club & Restaurant
and Club Viper

The lighting is low, music memorabilia -- signed guitars and photographs of blues musicians -- lines the brick walls and hangs above the bar and the dining room, reminiscent of the Hard Rock Café restaurant chain, but with a more low-key, local style.

Paul Morency opened The Midnight Blues Club and Muddy Waters Café in 2001 along the banks of the Androscoggin River in Auburn. Confusion over whether it was named after the river or the influential blues musician led him to shorten the name. It also didn't help that the restaurant was added after it opened. "We struggled with our restaurant taking hold in Auburn, because people were constantly thinking of us as a nightclub only, and not a restaurant." A year later, Morency added its downstairs disco cousin, the Cellar Door. Read the whole story...

Jorgensen's Café

Since its opening 20 years ago, Jorgensen's Café has been a downtown hotspot. Like the coffees and teas they serve, it's brewing with activity, yet relaxed enough for someone to sit down and drink a cup and eat a sandwich while reading the paper or browsing the Internet on a free wireless connection.

Menu boards, handwritten in rainbow colors of chalk, brighten the servery, hanging above cases of gelato, candies, desserts from Acadia Cakes, and Kennebec Chocolates, a recent addition after the closing of the downtown business.

Jon Jorgensen opened the café in August 1990. Current owners Steve and Ginny Bolduc bought it in November 2007 from their nephew, Jeff Gordon. "It seemed like one day we were looking into it, and the next day we were owning it," says Ginny. Read the whole story...

The Villager Family Restaurant

"It's just basic -- we don't do anything fancy, because fancy costs people money," says The Villager Family Restaurant owner/chef Joe Marcoux. His restaurant has a simple layout with rows of tables, chairs, and booths, and a servery off to the side. A glance around the room reveals some surprising touches; colorful paintings line the right wall above the booths, another is a corner where customers can have fruit baskets made to order with some of the many nuts, candies, and chocolates on display in jars.

The paintings were painted by local artist Carol Fowler, who came in and asked Marcoux if she could hang her artwork in the restaurant. Marcoux is open to the idea of providing more space for artists. "I would entertain anybody that wants to put up art." Read the whole story...

Berry's Stationers

A walk into Berry's Stationers could lead you to become buried in the many treasures that lie within. A corner-to-corner collage of art and office supplies greets the eyes: rows of paintbrushes, shelves of paints, pencils, markers, and stationery, and racks of coloring books and greeting cards. Off to the side, the picture framing area features colorful samples of frames arranged in rows along the walls.

Michael Giroux and his sister, Michelle Giroux-Paré bought the long-term business (established circa 1897) in December 2001. Michael had spent five years working for previous owners Lee and Becky Brandwein as a bookkeeper. The brother and sister team saw it had a lot of potential, and with a lifelong shared love of music and the arts, Michael's strong accounting background, and his and Michelle's Masters degrees in Business Administration from Husson College, they felt confident enough that they could run it themselves. Read the whole story...

Millennium Styling Salon: Hair Room

While pregnant with her son, Shelley Lane spent time thinking over what she wanted to do with her life. With nine years of experience as a stylist, she decided she was ready to open her own salon after he was born. She named it Millennium because he was born the year before, in 2000, and "it just had a good little ring to it."

As a child, she thought she would grow up to become a veterinarian. In her teens, she discovered she didn't want to work at a desk, and wasn't sure she could handle dealing with sick animals. She gave hairdressing a try the summer after high school graduation, so if she didn't like it, she could go to college in the fall. Read the whole story...

Spell Bound

Spell Bound is the place to go for board games, fantasy role playing games, collectible card games, and the space to hang out to play them.

"I didn't know how to play anything -- not a game in here -- until I opened the store four years ago," owner Donna Goggin says.

She came up with the name, inspired by the spells in collectible card games, and her son Joel, who has been playing Magic: The Gathering for more than a decade. She spent a year doing research to ensure she was making the right decision. Read the whole story...

The Paragon Shop

The very definition of the word “paragon” is excellence. Inspired by the term, and the old Paragon mail order catalog, in 1981, Nancy St. Amand decided to add it to the name of her new downtown gift shop.

St. Amand had worked in retail throughout high school and college, including the Harris Bakery retail store downtown. “I thought that it would be very fun to own your own place," she says.

After graduation from Thomas College, she processed insurance claims, did accounting on her own, worked for an accounting firm, and later went back to Thomas for merchandising courses. Read the whole story...

Attitudes

The sun shines through the windows while stylists stand at their stations. Some wrap strands in foil and brush dye over them, others are putting the finishing touches on a client's new 'do, brushing hair and blow drying it. Attitudes is a world of colors, creams, sprays, shampoos, and serums, mixed with the flair of a stylist who is also part therapist and confidant.

Owner/stylist Laurie Laliberte bought the business two years ago from Jamie Cram, who opened it in 1990. Cram is studying nursing, but still works there part-time.

"Jamie was looking to sell it, and she had called me. Somebody had given her my name, and so I talked to her a little bit about it, and I really wasn't contemplating it seriously in my head," Laliberte says. "I talked to my husband, and he was great -- so supportive -- and he told me, he just said, 'You're just crazy if you don't do it.'" Read the whole story.

The Last Unicorn

Long-time downtown fixture The Last Unicorn is as legendary as the creature it's named after, considered one of the best restaurants in Waterville for casual fine dining, traditional American favorites, and specialty dishes.

In the middle of the Silver Street business strip, between the Midnight Blues Club and Cancun, red and white umbrellas hang above tables and chairs along the patio before its square structure. Eclectic paintings and electric signs add sleekness to the cozy, open dining rooms... read the whole article.

Barrels Community Market

Named after the building which houses it, the Barrell Block, its first owner, Charles Barrell, and in the spirit of plenty, the Barrels Community Market is a project of Waterville Main Street, part of their ongoing efforts to revitalize the downtown.

Barrels manager David Gulak (pictured right) graduated from George Washington University in 2002 with a degree in International Economics. He worked with businesses doing market research, grant writing, and creating business plans before turning to organic farming... read the whole article.

Cancun Mexican Restaurant

"I just work and focus on my family -- make sure they have a tortilla on the table tomorrow," says Hector Fuentes, owner and manager of Cancun, his speech occasionally spiced with American slang.

Growing up in La Piedad, Michoacán in central Mexico, four hours north of Mexico City and an hour and a half south of Guadalajara, he was the second of seven brothers and sisters. "I remember when I was a little kid, and my father, he had to work all day long for us to have a decent meal, a little bit of food at home."... read the whole article.

Earth Bound

You won't find seeds, trowels, Birkenstocks, farm-fresh produce, or handmade soaps at Earth Bound. What you will find are satiny formal gowns, shelves of shoes and jeans, and racks of shawls, shirts, and pants that spring before the eyes in rainbow shades like the season they represent.

Owner Jennifer Bergeron intended the name to convey "that we had things from everywhere," because she liked finding new and unusual clothing lines, and wanted to appeal to travelers.

By age six, she began sketching her own fashion designs. When she was in 8th grade, her mother encouraged her to talk to the buyer at Sterns department store about what her job was like. “What I wanted to do was either be a buyer for a big department store or own my own store... read the whole article.

You Know Whose Pub

Low chandelier light shines on the bar veneer and the wooden tables, slightly scuffed from the plates and glasses of drinkers and diners; padded church pews converted into benches stand against the wall parallel to the bar, below mirrored beer signs. Above everything, stained glass windows mounted in the ceiling lend dashes of color.

Off to the side, the game room offers a dartboard, leather sofas, pool tables, video poker and pinball machines. Wednesday is trivia night, with prizes such as hats and t-shirts.

Norton Webber opened the pub in 1970, and traces of his ownership remain in the form of decor that adds to the vintage atmosphere... read the whole article.

George's Restaurant

Outside, the small clapboard house resembles a shotgun shack. An inside look reveals a paneled dining room, where bigwigs and nowigs sit at square tables, almost literally rubbing elbows, no walls or booths between them. In front of the kitchen, liquor bottles along the bar glow in the light, their colorful labels brightening the room.

The business began life 30 years ago as Sitto's (Lebanese for "grandmother's"), a Lebanese grocery store, later a bakery, and a Lebanese/American style restaurant and caterer owned by brothers Thomas and Elias George.

Given its heritage, it might seem odd that George's Restaurant is now owned by half-Polish, half-Irish brother and sister chefs Patricia and Ed McMahon... read the whole article.

Day's Travel Bureau

"I tell people," says Sandy Day,"They say, 'Well, where do most of your people go?' I say, 'I'm still trying to get them past the liquor store in New Hampshire.' It's amazing how many people have not even been to Boston. If you look around, and talk to people, they've never even been to Boston. Maybe Portland."

Walter Sanderson Day has managed Day's Travel Bureau for 45 years. His son Jeff runs the Augusta office."I micromanage him, and he manages," Day says, laughing....read the entire article.

Children's Book Cellar

Like some of the fiction she sells, the story of Ellen Richmond's business ownership features an unexpected plot twist. "I mean, it was just a fluke that I ever ended up in it, so -- I'm not sure that I had any huge compulsion. It was a subject that I liked, and it just kind of was a fit."

After getting a B.A. in English, she wound up managing local Mr. Paperback stores for 20 years. "I had no plan to do retail. I was going to be an English teacher, but when I graduated in the '70s, there were far too many high school English teachers, and I couldn't coach basketball or football, so, it was tough to find a job... read the entire article.

Beverly's Card & Gift

Outside, the large picture window shows a small selection of merchandise, stuffed animals, wallet stuffers, and mini snow globes, hinting at what's in store.

Inside Beverly's Card and Gift neatly arranged items fill the small space: aisles of greeting cards, kiosks of calendars, shelves of candles, picture frames, decorative clocks, jewelry, Webkinz, and knickknacks. Hanging along the walls are party favors and decorations. Together, alongside the displays of wind chimes, Snowbabies, Christmas ornaments, and WillowTree figurines they form eye-catching store décor...read the entire article.

Atkins Printing Service

You never know what lurks below Main Street. To the casual observer, with its white-walled, fluorescent lit offices spread along the basement of three buildings, Atkins Printing Service looks like an average business. Beneath the surface lie important family and political ties, organized work done with care, and a focus on the worker and the customer – a formula that yields millions of dollars in annual revenues.

The Atkins offices buzz with workers sitting at desks, clicking at computers, packing boxes, running printing presses and binders. The humming and clacking of the machines mix with voices and country music over the faint, bitter odor of printing ink... read the entire article.

Sign of the Sun

"It's kind of interesting to think that I've sort of been instrumental in spreading 'Sign of the Sun-ness' all over the area," says business owner Frederick Ruder. "There's very few houses around here that don't have something from here in them, somewhere. It's kind of like the rays of the sun dappling the landscape."

From the second floor of a brick building at 22 Silver St., Sign of the Sun shines over the downtown. A visit to the boutique evokes late 1960s San Francisco chic, a unique mix of flower power with a modern twist. Amid high ceilings, brick walls, pipes, and hardwood floors, its inventory and decor form a retro rainbow of color: earrings, necklaces, figurines, rings, and stones, incense, and everything from tapestries to tie-dyed t-shirts, bags to baby doll tops, buttons, cards, candles, and crystals... read the entire article.